150 Ampere

Nokia’s N800 Internet tablet was announced last year and now that it’s been out for a bit, it’s safe to say that the N800 isn’t exactly like any mobile handheld you’ve used before, but will it give you what you want?

The 4.13-inch touch screen device is designed to allow the user to access the Internet from wherever and whenever. It comes with a camera, a portable music player and it can also make phone calls, but it’s first duty is to connect the user to the Internet, and that’s what it does best.

Its orientation is different than the typical mobile’s is. The navigation and control buttons are on the left side of the device. The pop-out web cam is also located on the left. Since it’s a 1.3-megapixel affair, it’s not the highest-quality camera you’ll find in a portable device. The right side of the device is loaded with the connector jacks.

The device has a touchscreen keyboard, but its size makes touch typing impractical. Unless you like single-finger typing, you’ll probably want to make some other input arrangements. The N800 supports Bluetooth, so if you’re hoping to use this as a replacement for lugging a laptop around, you’ll want a separate keyboard.

The N800 comes with VoIP clients to allow you to make Skype calls. If you’re disappointed by Skype in general, or the quality of VoIP calls, the N800 isn’t going to impress you. In fact, the device doesn’t do very well with streaming data of any kind - most likely related to the processor inside of it. Time-sensitive data - like voice or video phone calls, streaming video and real-time updates are bound to be a bummer for you.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one kit and you want any level of quality, the N800 probably won’t take you as far as you want to go. On the other hand, if you want to use the device primarily for mobile browsing and you’re willing to overlook a few warts, the N800 may be the package for you. The N800 garnered a mid-range Freak Score. If you’re interested in reading the reviews, check them out here.

If you’ve ever sent your handset for a swim, you know that the outcome isn’t good. Regardless of where the water is coming from, or what its biohazard status is, water and cell phones just don’t mix very well. Until now. Fujitsu has just introduced the F705i, an ultrathin, waterproof 3G phone that can take whatever abuse you’ve dished up for 30 minutes at 1m.

Most loos I’m aware of aren’t that deep, and although the Spring rains are right around the corner, hopefully they won’t be coming at a rate of 2m/hr. Yikes!

To put some extra waterproofing in all of the right places, Fujitsu had to make a few sacrifices: 1.3-megapixels on the camera instead of the minimum expected 2.0 megapixels. The battery’s good for about three hours if all you want to do is talk, and a little better than half of that if you want to video call. One welcome addition, however, is the Super Clear Voice and Super Clear Mike combo, that automatically adjust the volume of a call based on the ambient noise at the recipient’s end. (No more fumbling for those sodding buttons!)

Fujitsu hasn’t announced when or whether it plans to distribute this to markets other than the one at home, but I know more than one person who could seriously benefit from carrying this thing!

For the rest of Fujitsu’s line, check out TestFreaks.

They must be running out of cell phone model numbers, because Toshiba and Samsung have both just introduced new models called the G810. Toshiba’s G810 is part of the Portege line and runs Windows Mobile 6. The Toshiba version supports HSDPA and HSUPA, and includes the latest mobile darling, GPS. A-GPS is thrown in for good measure. You’ll also get a touch screen interface, a standard-issue 3.0-megapixel camera, an FM radio, built-in portable music player and a microSD expansion slot.

In no way should you confuse the Toshiba G810 with the Samsung G810. First of all, Sammy’s version is more properly addressed as the G810 Ultra Edition. Although you’ll still get the HSDPA connectivity, built-in Wi-Fi, GPS, the portable music player and so on, Sammy’s G810 is a slider that runs the S60 OS. You’ll step up to a 5.0 megapixel camera if you go the Sammy route. And touch it all you want, but it’s not a touch screen device.

The G810s make their European debut in either the second quarter (Toshiba) or the first quarter (Samsung) depending upon which model you choose.

If you can’t wait that long, or the idea of model number recycling appeals to you, check out the large and growing collection of handsets at TestFreaks.

Samsung showed off the i780 at Barcelona last week. The i780 isn’t “new” new. It was introduced last fall, but it has finally hit the bricks, and according to Sammy, it sports a DLNA stamp of approval. What’s that? The Digital Living Network Alliance nod means that the i780 knows how to behave itself in the grand scheme of digital interoperability.

This unit is designed for the business user and features EDGE, HSDPA, 3G, UMTS 2.1 GHz, and GPRS connectivity. Don’t let its thin size fool you into thinking this one’s not loaded with the goodies. it’s just a hair under 13 mm high, but it runs on Windows Mobile and offers a 2-megapixel camera, a separate video recorder, a music player, an FM radio receiver, Bluetooth, Bluetooth 2.0, USB, USB 2.0, and Wi-Fi support, email, SMS and MMS messaging, and video calling, along with external memory support via its microSD card.

The display is a 320×320 65K colour TFT touch screen, giving the i780 a slightly unusual appearance. No slides here - the i780 has a full QWERTY keyboard on the front face, along with navigation buttons and an optical joystick for moving around the menus. Feeling lost? Get moving again with the i780’s built-in GPS that serves up Garmin’s location-based services along with Google maps. Assisted-GPS is available for Orange users.

The picture makes the device look a bit odd, but it’s a slim model that sits well in your hand. You can get it through Orange pretty inexpensively if you’re willing to commit to a long-term contract. It scores big with the TestFreaks crew. If you’re interested, check out the reviews here.

The Samsung F490 full touch screen interface phone is out and about. It’s a tri-band 2G phone and offers 3G HSDPA data service. The touch screen is a TFT number that sports 256K colours, and does it ever look nice.

The F490 isn’t exactly a surprise. Pictures of it were leaked in December, so we all knew it was coming. The real deal features a 5 MP camera with flash and a secondary video camera for making video phone calls. The F490 gives you something to do with all of your cool Bluetooth gear, and the OS supports email, SMS, EMS, MMS and Instant messaging.

You can download polyphonic MP3 ringtones, and for those times you don’t want to share your audio, the F490 has a built-in 3.5-mm headphone jack. It’s pre-loaded with Google Search, the Picsel document viewer, an organiser, and it will do hands-free if you need it to.

The F490 comes nice but it doesn’t come cheap. Expect to leave the man behind the counter a €550 tip if you want to walk out with one of these. For a look at all of Samsung’s line, stop by TestFreaks.

There’s plenty to see at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, and there are a zillion product introductions. One that caught my eye is the Sony Ericcson XPERIA X1 phone. The trend is clearly moving toward smartphones and converged multimedia devices, and the XPERIA X1 embraces that philosophy.

The X1 slider features a 3-inch VGA screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. Housed in a full metal jacket, the X1 is the first native device to emerge from the Sony Ericcson venture. It’s stated purpose is to provide mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment, and that it does.

The user interface consists of user configurable XPERIA panels, which allow the user to determine the most natural interface layout and provide touch screen navigation on its 65K colour TFT LCD display. If touch navigation doesn’t do it for you, you can also navigate using the keyboard, a four-way key or an optical joystick.

The XPERIA X1 runs on Windows Mobile and also offers assisted GPS navigation services, HSDPA/HSUPA and Wi-Fi support. It also has all of the must-have gadgets like a camera (with a photo light); music player; video recorder; FM radio; Bluetooth stereo; a modem; and USB support. It can support up to 400 MB memory for the phone, and has a microSD slot.

The phone is a quad-band that’s at home on GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks, and will also work on UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA networks on four frequencies.

According to Sony Ericcson, this baby will be ready for street duty in the second half of 2008. No word on price. If you can’t wait that long, check out the existing line of Sony Ericcson gear at TestFreaks.

JVC is introducing its latest additions to the GR-D mini DV camcorder line, with the GR-D850 and GR-D870 models. The release is meant for the US market, but JVC’s packed these two entries with features that will make them worth waiting for.

The D870 offers two recording modes: Dual Recording and Live Slow. Dual Recording mode is exciting because it enables the user to collect high quality digital still frames while recording live action video. Live Slow lets the user pile on the slo-mo effects whilst live audio is recorded: a neat trick, but probably not overly useful. The slo-mo effects can be applied to footage shot at regular speed, so you don’t have to commit to the effect if you’re not sure you want it.

Both cameras offer a 2.7-inch auto-backlight LCD display that can stand up to a full sunlight assault and a Konica Minolta 35x optical zoom lens (and a built in 800x digital zoom) for those must-have-no-matter-what-shots. They also feature manual and auto modes to please those who like to fiddle with the settings and those who don’t.

Both models also offer a built in Auto Illumi-Light LED for low-light shooting. The D870 and D850 models come with a compass-point four-button navigation system on the door that will allow easy one-touch access to the camera menus. The cameras are on the market now. The D870 can be had for about USD$250 and the the D850 goes for USD$230. JVC has not yet said when these models will be available in Europe.

If you want to take a look at the full line of JVC’s miniDV camcorders, check out the selection at TestFreaks.

Ezmo has announced a mobile version of its online music streaming service. Mobile users whose handsets support Flash Lite 3 can tap into their own private collection anytime they want without having to add memory to the phone. The user uploads his or her collection of music to Ezmo, and Ezmo streams it back on demand.

Mum always said to share, so Ezmo allows users to share a collection with up to 10 friends. The service won’t work without 3G or EDGE support - although if your handset has built-in Wi-Fi, you’re still good to go - and it also won’t stream DRM’d music, so keep that in mind before you start shipping your music out to Norway.

Since streaming your entire music collection is bound to chew up some of your air time, Ezmo offers some attractive data plans, naturally. If you’re itching to get your music up and running, but your old phone won’t help, visit TestFreaks to take a look at the latest in 3G and EDGE phones.