One of the things I really love about Android smartphones is the push capabilities that it’s capable of right out-of-the-box. If you use Google Calendar, Gmail, and even the ‘Contacts’ feature within Gmail, then be pleasantly surprised by what HTC’s Dream (aka ‘T-Mobile G1’) or Magic can truly offer.

But what if you didn’t want ‘push’? How about the ability to selectively choose what gets pushed and what doesn’t? And is it possible to restrict the push should I ever be roaming outside my home network?

Obviously, the answer is ‘Yes!’

The following video should provide some insight, and tips for current Dream/Magic users, on how to further manage your personal information - wherever you are, whenever the situation!

Taiwanese smartphone maker, HTC, made another grand debut today - and this time, it was in London with the launch of their latest Android-based smartphone, the Hero.

At the same time, they also showed off their latest user interface (UI) implementation, named ‘HTC Sense’, which will be making its formal introduction on the Hero upon its commercial release.

So what makes this announcement so important for HTC? To put it in the simplest way possible, the Hero begins a new chapter in their efforts to bring a unified (smartphone) user experience to all of their future products - to be enabled by HTC Sense...

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(Updated: new live hands-on photos and videos added)

To the surprise of some, if not many, this year’s hero product for SamsunWhile competitor Samsung may have announced a couple of power products at this year’s CommunicAsia show, LG seems to have taken a more conservative, yet creative, approach and shown us only three new products at their press gathering earlier this afternoon.

The Crystal (aka GD900), Viewty Smart (aka GC900), and the GM730 are all products based on LG’s new ‘S-Class’ user interface (UI). But beyond their latest usability offerings, each of these models offer something unique in their own right - facts that I’ll be getting into right about now...

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(Updated: new live hands-on photos and videos, added Samsung Galaxy)

To the surprise of some, if not many, this year’s hero product for Samsung’s CommunicAsia attendance wasn’t any smartphone - but a phone that’s “smarter than a smartphone”.

That was the slogan used by Samsung to officially present the Jet to the general public for the very first time. Those are big words to describe a device that isn’t a smartphone of any kind, and belonging to a device class that sits somewhere further down in the pecking order for mobile phones.

But according to Samsung, the Jet has much to offer its users - as I will try and expand upon.

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On a typical morning in Singapore, Nokia held their yearly Nokia Connection gathering for analysts and members of the press. A press conference usually precedes the official opening of the event, where Nokia also takes the opportunity to show off new models to come in the months ahead.

In 2009, Nokia announced three: the E72, the 5530 XpressMusic, and the 3710 Fold...

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As expected by many, Apple announced their latest iPhone product for this year - branded, simply, as the ‘iPhone 3G S’. Many believe the added “S” stands for “Speed” - and I pretty much concur with that.

On the outside, the iPhone 3G S is physically identical to its predecessor model, with the now-still-current (iPhone 3G) 8GB black model to become the entry-point device upon the S’s induction. Clearly, Apple believes it has a sustainable design (or form factor) that merits a longer existence - again, being something that I also firmly believe in.

But more interestingly is what Apple has changed, or upgraded, spec-wise...

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Apple has finally set an official release date for the iPhone OS 3.0: June 17.

That’s just two days before the latest incarnation of the iPhone, the 3G S, becomes available (but in selected markets only, with others to follow suit in the following weeks and months), which will have this latest OS pre-loaded for the ultimate out-of-the-box user experience.

This free upgrade* should give all existing iPhone users a chance in getting-to-know what our existing iPhones can do with just a software upgrade, as each different version of the iPhone will offer a slightly-different feature set (this was noted previously during the iPhone OS 3.0 preview session). I won’t comment too much on this prior to taking a test drive of Three-Point-Zero.

At the same time, it should also give us a clear indication as to whether we should go for the ‘S’ upgrade...

[ * - For all iPod touch users, upgrading to OS 3.0 will cost US$9.95 upon availability ]

FYI :
Apple iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update info @ Apple.com

One week on, Sony Ericsson announces two more handsets, bringing the total number of upcoming models to five.

The Naite and C901 GreenHeart, slated for Q3 and Q2 respectively, both share a unique design trait: they’ve been designed with the environment in mind.

From the actual plastics used to create the phone (minimum 50% recycled), to the reduction in packaging size, and the introduction of an on-the-phone e-manual saving over 90% of paper usage, Sony Ericsson’s ‘GreenHeart’ phones aim to reduce their overall CO2 footprint by 15%. These pioneering models go along with the company’s revitalised product portfolio strategy, with the methodology eventually finding its way onto other models in time.

Anyway, while this may all seem rather interesting, I should also touch on the specifics of the two handsets in question here...

The C901 GreenHeart is the “superior” of the two, offering the slew of media-based features, including: high-speed 3G connectivity (HSPA); a 5-megapixel AF camera with Xenon flash and highly-functional camera controls; audio and video playback; mobile gaming (standard + motion support); and the typical Sony Ericsson phone features set.

As for the Naite, it will also be 3G-equipped (HSDPA) but will come with a more-basic 2-megapixel camera instead. One other (major) difference is the support for microSD memory cards, and not the M2 (or Memory Stick Micro) format typically found with Sony Ericsson models prior. This is similarly the case with the previously-announced Aino, Satio and Yari models.

FYI :
Sony Ericsson C901 GreenHeart specs @ SonyEricsson.com
Sony Ericsson Naite specs @ SonyEricsson.com
Sony Ericsson GreenHeart site

Almost two weeks ago, I came across an article talking about how the troubled venture, Sony Ericsson, is probably going to dump the ‘Cyber-shot’ and ‘Walkman’ brandings from their future phone portfolio.

Late last week, a product announcement in London unveiled three models, two of which were unseen (publicly) prior to the event. The handsets, designated as ‘Aino’, ‘Satio’, and ‘Yari’, will be the first models from Sony Ericsson to take on a rather different branding - or naming - schema, and goes towards supporting the idea I mentioned above.

But first, a quick overview of the products...

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If it wasn’t because I was trying to look for something, this little piece of news may have just slipped under the radar.

Nokia on Thursday quietly announced the E52, a 3-by-4 numpad version based on the upcoming E55 that features extended talk and standby times and the inclusion of a new compact QWERTY keypad design. It is also an upgrade to the now-still-current E51.

This dual-band 3G (850/2100 and 900/2100 variants), quad-band GSM handset will be HSPA enabled (10.2 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up), and include all the Eseries productivity features found on current models. It will also have the new Nokia Messaging function pre-loaded and ready for use upon its initial power-up.

Looks like a winner if you’re after something functional, but straight-forward to use and rely on. Find out more from the Nokia products site from one of the links below...

FYI :
Nokia E52 bios @ Nokia.com
Nokia E52 detailed specs @ Forum Nokia

Those keeping a close watch on the Google Android front shall be over the moon to hear of Samsung’s latest product announcement, the I7500.

(And to those observers forever presenting an impatient attitude towards this subject, let me say that “all good things come to those who wait” - with this “wait” being all but unreasonable.)

According to their press release, the product will sport a couple of notable hardware differentiators, including a 3.2-inch AMOLED display (HVGA @ 320x480 px), built-in 5-megapixel AF camera (with LED photo light), 8GB internal user memory _plus_ optional support for up to 32GB via its external memory slot, and a form factor at only 11.9mm thick.

Compared to the two Android-enabled handsets released by Taiwanese maker, HTC, thus far (that is, the G1/Dream and the Magic), Samsung has put the I7500 in a rather unique position - as a product that offers more than just the “Google phone” experience. The outstandingly vivid-and-bright properties of Samsung’s own AMOLED display technology, along with their renowned imaging capabilities, are two very good reasons to make the I7500 _the_ “Google phone” to get - albeit the higher price tag, which will be most certain on its slated June release in Europe.

The I7500 is a tri-band 3G/UMTS (900/1700/2100 MHz) handset with quad-band GSM support, and supports HSPA data access (7.2 Mbps down, 5.76 Mbps up) plus Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) where available. On software, it will be pretty much standard-issue Google apps (or of what’s founded on the G1/Dream and Magic), along with those outstanding (and very powerful) mapping features when used in tandem with the on-board GPS receiver. And according to the press release, we shall see the Google Latitude feature/service available with the I7500, being a little something that’ll make the overall user experience that much more interesting!

There is obviously much potential for the Android platform, given its infancy - and Samsung has certainly done their bit in (possibly) making the product more fun to use, whether its for work or for play. June isn’t all that far off - and I can’t wait to see how Samsung manages to enrich the overall user experience (of the I7500) in their own unique ways.

Ever since OEM device maker HTC decided to go retail with the same branding, the landscape for Windows Mobile (WM) hardware took a turn for the good - specifically, with the more-interesting designs that we are now seeing. Some may not agree completely with this - but I believe the Touch Diamond was the model that truly made the mark, and turned over a new page in WM history.

Ever since search giant Google announced their intention on entering the mobile market with their own open platform, named ‘Android’, people like us have been patiently waiting for the arrival of the very first commercial device to host it - not only to see how it stands up amongst the competition, but (more importantly) to experience what the platform has on offer in terms of usability and functionality.

Renowned Windows Mobile based device maker, HTC, was the company to come up with this very device, designated as the ‘Dream’. But in most markets, it is known as the G1 - or, more specifically, the T-Mobile G1 (due to its exclusive availability in selected countries where the mobile network operator has a footing).

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It may not sport as many radical enhancements or new features as some of us may have been expecting. But Apple’s presentation of the new - and upcoming - iPhone OS 3.0 at their Cupertino home base was an impressive one, nonetheless.

This time round, it’s not about wowing the audience (us) with those revolutionary new features and services, like how it was with the company’s prior (major) release iterations of the platform. Instead, Apple’s primary mission with “three-O” is to bring further perfection to the overall user experience by introducing a variety of new features, and at the same time “filling in the gaps” on certain areas that didn’t really cut it, usability wise.

(more after the jump)

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Unlike the competition, it’s rare to see how a platform developer is publicly sharing their release plans - which I personally believe is great.

Just last Thursday, the guys over at the Symbian Foundation has shown us their well laid plans for individual platform releases: an entire process that can span up to 48 months, right from start to finish, with half the time spent on initial development, and the latter half spent on maturing the product until its so-called EOL (or as how they put it, “archived”).

Based pretty much on the latest S60 Touch platform, the new Symbian Foundation platforms will simply be called ‘ Symbian^n ’, where “n” is an integer or whole number referring to the specific release. The first platform will be called ‘Symbian^2’, which will be made “functionally complete” (alpha and/or beta firmware) by the middle of 2009, and “hardened” (final release) six months after.

(more after the jump)

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Finnish phone maker Nokia has made their position pretty clear where music phones are concerned. The launch of the Nokia Music Store late last year, and the new ‘Comes with Music’ offering for specific XpressMusic-branded products, are the moves that hope to change the current landscape, which is still dominated by Apple’s iPod and iPhone products.

And just yesterday, Nokia officially announced a further three products belonging to the XpressMusic family of music phones: the 5730 XpressMusic, the 5330 XpressMusic, and the 5030 (XpressRadio). Each of these models are unique in their very own way, as I will be laying out the groundwork below.

(more after the jump)

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