Smartphones to Look Out For

The mobile market is booming right now, but as expectations from users get higher all the time, it seems like manufacturers are working overtime to bring out bigger and better handsets. Plus let’s not forget, the onslaught of the Tablet is at hand so mobile phones are going to have to work overtime. But here are a few of the handsets that I’m looking forward to seeing before the year is out.

Nokia E7
The Nokia E7 is the latest in Nokia’s, for a long time quiet but nevertheless famous, Communicator series. Of course it looks nothing like a traditional Communicator but it’s a new age phone, so a new style has evolved. From sleek looks to a large touchscreen and QWERTY keypad, could this be an alternative to a netbook/tablet? I’d like to know what you think. The only drawback is that it has no room for extra memory although 16GB does seem like enough. Like the N8, the E7 also comes with a scratch resistant display, plenty of connectivity options and a grand old ARM 11 680 MHz processor with the addition of a separate 3D Graphics HW accelerator.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Here’s a quick look at the new Communicators specs -

• 4-inch AMOLED (Polarized) touchscreen display (scratch resistant) with a 360 x 640 pixel resolution
• slide out WERTY with propped up display
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS (Ovi Maps)
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, micro USB (2.0)
• 8MP camera, dual LED flash, 720p video recording, smile detection
• FM radio
• Dolby Digital Plus
• HDMI Out/Composite Out
• 16GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket

Motorola MILESTONE 2
Motorola has tried to stay true to the original form of the MILESTONE slash GSM DROID but has managed to significantly improve on the design and features. The QWERTY keypad has been widened and sans the nav-pad, looks a little more comfortable. With 8GB of memory irrespective of the fact that it’s going to come with Froyo aka Android 2.2, you have plenty of space for apps and more. Motorola also intends to ship this upgrade with their MOTOBLUR UI and Swype for speedy touchscreen typing if the physical keypad is not your cup of tea. The processor has thankfully also been upgraded to 1GHz and Motorola has also thrown in DLNA support to sweeten the deal.

Here are what the MILESTONE 2’s specs are like -

• 3.7-inch touchscreen display with a 480 x 854 pixel resolution
• Slide out QWERTY
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS (Ovi Maps)
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, micro USB (2.0)
• 5MP camera, dual LED flash, 720p video recording
• 8GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket

__PAGEBREAK__
Samsung I8700 Omnia 7
This one of the very first Windows Phone 7 devices to be announced officially and comes with the promise of taking the Windows Mobile OS to the next level of user experience. True the new OS is really doing all the work but there’s also something to be said about the hardware. Along with the usual basket of goodies, Samsung has also equipped the Omnia 7 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of the 1GHz variety. The Super AMOLED display should also provide for a visual feast and the 5MP on-board autofocus camera is designed to capture video at 720p resolution. Like the E7 though, Samsung plans on shipping the Omnia 7 with either 8 or 16 GB of internal storage with no option for expansion.

The handset also comes equipped with -

• 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro USB (2.0)
• 5MP camera, LED flash
• FM radio
• 8 or 16GB internal memory capacities
• 3.5mm handsfree socket

LG E900 Optimus 7
It seems like the trend these days is to include high capacity on board memory without the options of expansion as LG’s Optimus 7, the next Windows Phone 7 device will also go the E7 and Optimus 7 way. 16GB is what’s been promised. Some of the other features include W-Fi with DLNA compliance a TV Out function and much more in the connectivity department. An FM radio will also be part of the package as well as 720p video capture from the 5 megapixel camera.

This Optimus Device also comes with -

• 3.8-inch touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro USB (2.0)
• 5MP camera, LED flash
• FM radio
• 16GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket
• TV Out

HTC Mozart
HTC was definitely not going to be left out. They pioneered the Android revolution and also had their fare share of success with their Windows Mobile touchscreen devices. It was only natural that they’d take on the new persona of Microsoft’s portable mobile OS i.e. Windows Phone 7, so enter the Mozart. Model numbers mean nothing to these guys. HTC has gone with the new S-LCD display panel that’s supposed to be even more power efficient than AMOLED. The Mozart will ship with SRS and Dolby Mobile Sound enhancement technology that should be great for the overall audio experience. This will also come with bulk internal storage but no memory card slot.

The Mozart also features -

• 3.7-inch S-LCD touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution and 16 million colors
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro USB (2.0)
• 8MP camera, Xenon flash, face detection
• FM radio
• 8GB internal memory
• 3.5mm handsfree socket
• SRS and Dolby Mobile sound enhancement

If there are any more phones you’re looking forward to seeing by the end of this year, please go ahead and list them in our comments section below.Also let us know what about them appeals to you the most.