The countdown to?CES 2010, the biggest electronics trade show on the planet, has begun, but what can we expect from the show, and what should we start to get excited about? Here are six areas that are going to dominate the news come January.

Don't forget, Pocket-lint will be bringing you all the news, reviews, comment, photos and video as it happens in the run up to CES and live from Las Vegas for the duration of the show.

You can bookmark our CES coverage at pocket-lint.com/CES2010

Digital Living

Technology has gone mainstream supposedly, so that means the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center will be filled with technology launches that embrace all of us rather than just a select few. In real terms that means everything from gadgets for kids, gadgets for mums and dads that look after kids, and gadgets for the silver surfer. Expect new toys for health, parenting and higher education.

Apple

Don't get too excited,?Apple isn't attending CES, regardless of how many rumours you hear, but that doesn't mean companies that work in the Apple eco-system aren't going to be in Vegas launching new gadgets. With a whole area dedicated to the iPod,?iPhone?and Macs, expect a fair share of iPod speakers, cables to connect to something else in your life and the usual array of cases to protect it all.

eBook readers

If you're planning on getting an ebook reader for Christmas you might want to think again. The ebook market has exploded in the US with Amazon,?Barnes & Noble?and?Sony?all fighting over each other to offer you the digital reader you supposedly need. Plastic Logic has already confirmed that it will be launching a new ebook at CES and there is bound to be other manufacturers like?Spring Design?and iRex offering new models.

3D

Riding on the wave of euphoria that Avatar will no doubt give the industry, consumer electronics manufacturers like?Sony, Toshiba, LG?and?Samsung?will be likely to be pushing?3D TV?hard at CES 2010. IFA 2009 already showed us the concepts, CES will show us the reality. Expect new televisions, announcements from the Blu-ray Disc Association, television makers, graphics card companies like Nvidia and movie companies all trying to get in on the action.

Netbooks

While most people have surely moved on from the popularity of netbooks, CES organisers CEA believe netbooks are going to still be big news at CES 2010. What that means is a barrage of computers that don't do much but let you surf the Web and write the odd document. Of course manufacturers will be trying to tell us otherwise with improved graphics courtesy of Nvidia and ATI. You should also probably expect a barrage of tablet devices with touchscreens allowing you to surf the Web around the home.

Green

With the economy making a comeback, manufacturers can once again turn their eyes to saving the planet. Although the idea of being green for green's sake is still very niche, generally manufacturers will be trying to tell you to ignore the thousands they are spending on lighting their booths and the sheer carbon emissions the show creates, by concentrating instead on how they've made advancements in the glass they use or the boxes your favourite gadgets go into. At least you can sleep at night knowing that we haven't had to chop down any trees to let you read this.

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Tags: Audio Car And GPS Dad Gadgets Gaming Hardware Home And Kitchen Home Cinema Phones Cameras Software Sports Fitness CES2010 ebooks Televisions Netbooks Sony LG Samsung Toshiba Apple iPod iPhone 3DTV Laptops Eco Amazon Barnes and Noble Spring Design

CES 2010: What new gadgets will be announced? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Here are the nominations for Best Home Cinema Device in The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009.

The following products were chosen because we feel they represent the best home cinema devices on sale in the last 12 months that are available in the UK.

The nominations are:

Philips 56PFL9954H Cinema 21:9 television

Panasonic DMR-BS850 Freesat Blu-ray recorder

LG 37LH7000 television

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim console

Humax Freesat+ FOXSAT-HDR recorder

Now in its 6th year, the Pocket-lint Gadget Awards, thought to be the longest running in the UK, pick the best gadgets and gizmos from the last year released in the UK.

Pocket-lint's vigorous vetting process means that all the gadgets up for nomination have to have been seen by a member of the Pocket-lint team (so far over 600) and have to have been available in the UK between December 2008 and December 2009.?

The awards, voted by a panel of leading gadget journalists from around the world, including the staff from the Pocket-lint team, will decide the real must-have gadgets of the year, rather than those simply deemed cool or anticipated, being the definitive guide for consumers looking to buy gadgets.

Winners will be announced at an Awards evening in London on Monday 7 December.

If you would like to order tickets to the event please visit our awards event page.

Public voting will start on Wednesday 18 November.

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Related links:

• Link - vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions Blu-ray PVRs Humax Sony Philips Panasonic LG PS3 PS3 slim Pocket-lint Awards Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009

Best Home Cinema Devices 2009 nominations originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In the States, LG has announced the launch of the Shine II, describing it as "another flash of brilliance in their product line".

Following on from the Shine's multi-million-selling success, the next-gen handset is available at AT&T and stays faithful to the original Black Label handset as far as overall design goes.

Featuring polished round edges and an "elegant" slider design, the LG Shine II boasts stainless steel construction and a 2.2-inch mirror LCD display.

There's also a music player and stereo Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera with flash and video recording complete with basic editing software.

The LG Shine II will be available at AT&T across the States from 22 November. Pricing has been revealed as $119.99 after a mail-in rebate for a 2-year agreement.

A UK release has not yet been announced for the Shine II, but we will keep you posted with news.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG Shine II AT and T

LG Shine II announced in the States originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:27:56 +0000

The LG Pop is the Korean company's latest assault on the low-end of the touchscreen mobile market.

Currently on sale for a shade under a hundie at the Carphone Warehouse, those thinking about taking the plunge might like to see this video overview first.

Hit play on the video above for a quick look at the new mobile that's said to be the smallest 3-inch touchphone on the market.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG Video LG Pop

VIDEO: LG Pop gets low-key walkthrough originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:06:40 +0000

Pocket-lint was there to get the first hands on as LG revealed the LG GW620 Android phone last night in London. As promised, the handset is a QWERTY slider with an HVGA 3-inch LCD. Its features include a 5-megapixel AF camera and "high-res" video recorder, offering one-touch uploads as well as DivX and Xvid support and a 3.5mm audio jack.

On the software side, Android has very much been given reign to rule the roost. There are touches of a subtle S-Class still, but they're non-invasive and can be switched off altogether if you find that they get in the way.

So far the handset has not been given its more friendly name due to a few legal wranglings. Overseas it's known as the LG Eve, but the company told Pocket-lint that this will not be the name adopted in the UK. The name is likely to reflect a whole family of QWERTY silder phones which LG has been developing and we'll all find out when the handset goes on sale in Q1 next year.

We were also told to expect many more LG Androids including full touchscreen models in 2010.

Related links:

• News - LG reveals a little more about the Android-based GW620
• News - VIDEO: LG accidentally unveils GW620 details
• News - LG Etna gets official as Android-based GW620

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG GW620 Android Photos

PHOTOS: LG GW620 Android phone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:56:32 +0000

The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Best Mobile Phone nominations are probably the ones we've all been waiting for. The smartphone industry is ablaze and every year we see more and more impressive handsets as the mobile becomes so much more than simply the telephone it once started out as. They are our pocket computers, our access terminals, our windows on the world and it's time to let us know which ones deserve that extra special praise for their impact in 2009. Which one gets your vote?

Android phones

After a very slow start Android is all the rage right now. Until a matter of months ago, HTC dominated with last year's G1, as well as the Magic - which is likely to be in the running - and the HTC Hero, on which it's very hard not to place a heavy bet for the winner of this award. That said, of late we've seen some really impressive contenders with an awesome come back from Motorola with the QWERTY based DEXT and the pure touch Droid.

Never ones to miss the boat, Samsung brought out the Galaxy i7500 and the imminent arrival of the LG GW620 brings the other Korean giant in on the action as well. The T-Mobile Pulse aka Huwaei's Android effort and the HTCs Eris and Tattoo have also shown that consumers can get a piece of Google's mobile OS at a reasonable price, while the launch of the impressive looking Rachael, or Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, makes Nokia's absence look all the more obvious.

Palm & Apple

The shotgun method is not something you'd associate with these manufacturers' approaches to the mobile phone industry in 2009. Nonetheless, between them they've had arguably the biggest impact of all. We were blown away by the Palm Pre at CES in January with its new OS, slideout QWERTY and beautiful touchscreen - even if we did have to wait the best part of a year for the thing to turn up in the UK - and the Apple iPhone 3GS - once Stevie J and friends had decided how to spell it - did just enough to keep itself on top.

More recently, the Palm Pixi has arrived as the lite version of the Pre and doubtless we'll see more webOS devices in the future. So, will Apple be following suit with an iPhone mini all of its own? One for 2010, perhaps.

BlackBerry

The other mobile cult all of its own is the church of RIM and its beloved BlackBerrys. The company has seen an impressive rise in market share and profits in 2009 with its more consumer facing approach. Handsets like the Curve 8520 and the Bold 9700 have proved as popular as their family heritage would suggest and even the second installment of the BlackBerry Storm seems finally to be going down as its name would have us believe. The only question is whether these recent announcements have left it too late for us all to rave about.

Other QWERTYs

If the OS and the touchscreen have been the biggest mobile trends of late, then the move to QWERTY keyboards has to be the next one down. While they used to be the preserve of RIM and a select few business models, the rise of the smartphone with e-mailing, browsing and IM needs has caused a greater desire for ease and speed of typing on our handsets. Most of the mobile makers have caught onto it and you can now buy the things on PAYG or just cheap contracts with basic phones.

The youth messenger market can now get hold of finger tappers like the LG GW300, the pink Samsung B3310 and Samsung Genio/Corby TXT if you're not man enough for the colour scheme on the other model. Go one step up and there's the slightly more mature LG GW520, the Nokia Surge/6760 and the Nokia E72 - the upgrade to the hugely popular business model of 2008. Last of all, there's the QWERTY to end all QWERTYs with the recent launch in the States of the TwitterPeek handset with the kind of keyboard that'll give your desktop a good run for its money.

Windows Mobile

With Android the rising star of 2009, it's easy to forget that Microsoft launched a new version of its mobile OS as well. Windows Mobile 6.5, or Windows Phone, may not necessarily be the choice of the consumer but the manufacturers can't get enough of it and, to give it its dues, it is getting better. HTC is one of the platform's largest supporters, despite the affiliation with Android, and both the HTC HD2 and the HTC Touch Diamond 2 have turned out to be very impressive implementations of the system.

Both the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 and Toshiba TG01 have taken the custom UI approach to Windows Phone and come up with a couple of handsets to make the consumer's choice that much harder, while Samsung launched an entire update to the OMNIA family with four whole models, each suited to a particular user.

Until the last few weeks, Acer has been solely focused on the Microsoft mobile OS as well with a mass of interesting, if not entirely refined, set of phones and, of course, the LG GM750 is a quick toe in the water for the Korean company while it makes up its mind which way to jump from its own S-Class interface - indeed if it intends to jump at all.

Nokia

It's not been the best of times for the company that still remains the number one in the mobile phone market. Yes, its presence in the developing world is incredible but the Finnish giant's grip on the West has slipped. With Symbian OS the platform of choice, there's still be some noteworthy releases including the headline N97 and N97 mini as well as the super snapper that is the N86.

The business E range is probably one of the strongest and certainly most interesting sectors beyond that, and we've had the pleasure of upgrades like the E52 and the E72 to enjoy over 2009, as well as the intro of the E55 candybar as well.

The classic series has been as well designed as ever with perhaps the Nokia 6700 classic the pick of the lot. Otherwise its all been about the much debated Comes with Music push and the Xpress Music handsets in the shape of the 5530 and the more premium touchscreen X3 and X6 devices, that could well find themselves doing better than some might think in the overall rankings.

Finally, Nokia wouldn't be Nokia if it wasn't trying something crazy and this year it's been the Nokia 7705 Twist. We'll let you judge that one for yourselves.

LG

With grit like determination to be the number two handset provider in the world, LG has been pushing, showing and innovating its heart out over 2009. While the Cookie continues to be its standout success, the likes of the LG Arena and new versions of both the Chocolate and Viewty in the LG BL40 and Viewty Smart have shown some serious intent, if lacking that final touch of class.

More recently, the LG BL20, or even newer Chocolate, looks to make its Black Label sibling that little bit more affordable along with the launch of the GD510 Pop, but the big design oohs and ahhs were saved for the LG GD900 see through phone and the LG Watchphone. Seen anybody actually wearing one yet?

Samsung

As well as being early on both the Windows Phone and Android markets, Samsung has been on a steep learning curve in all mobile departments throughout 2009. The company has been the first to test out the Vodafone 360 platform with the touchscreen H1 as well as briefly holding the record for the fastest phone in the west with the Samsung Jet.

Having finally perfected the touchscreen, the company has brought out more in the Tocco range for all levels if customer to play with and even gone AMOLED with superb handsets like the HD video shooting Samsung i8910. Beyond that, Samsung was the first to reach the 12-megapixel cameraphone mark with the Samsung Pixon12 and has added a couple of impressive innovations like the Beat DJ for the music obsessive and the solar panelled E1107. Generally a very good year for Samsung.

Sony Ericsson

There was a very long tease for Sony Ericsson fans this year. With the Satio and Aino shown off what seems like decades ago, news of the update to the Xperia back in March and Rachael round the corner since back in the summer, we're all just pleased that they made it in time for the 16th November Pocket-lint awards cut off.

Mercifully, while we were waiting for the big guns we had the pleasure of Maria Sharapova's company in the sale of the Sony Ericsson T707 plus, the eco-friendly Sony Ericsson Naite and the T715 more recently to pick up some native Twitter access. It wasn't a prolific year for the Japanese mobile maker but perhaps its biggest unsung hero was the continuation of the Walkman range with the likes of the Sony Ericsson W995 - one of the most complete mid-range handsets a person could buy. Well worth a shout.

The rest

Naturally, the last 12 months has come with its range insanely expensive luxury designer phones for equally insane people with obscenely insanely large wallets. See the Mobiadio Grand Pioneer, gold Nokia Carbon Arte, Motorola Aura Diamond and Tag Heuer Lamborghini handsets for just four of such examples. We wouldn't presume to deny yourselves and the panel of judges the chance to name any of them mobile phone of the year, but if you'd rather something more sensible, then spare a brief thought for the Land Rover S1 from Sonim and a good hour of pondering whether INQ really has cracked it this time with the INQ mini 3G.

What do you think?

But these are just some of the fantastic choices our readers have had in 2009. What would you like to see held aloft as the winner of Pocket-lint Best Mobile Phone 2009? What have we missed out? Which are your unsung heroes and of those we've already mentioned, which would get your vote? Let us know in the comments below and you can help our panel decide which make the shortlist of nominees to be announced here on Pocket-lint on 16 November. We'll have all out coverage of the Vodafone Pocket-lint awards 2009 right here. Don't miss a minute of it.

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Related links:

• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - home cinema device
• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - gaming hardware
• Feature - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - games

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Pocket-lint Awards Features LG Nokia Android HTC iPhone 3GS Sony Ericsson Samsung

Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - mobile phones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:49:23 +0000

LG has announced a few more details of its first Android smartphone, the LG GW620, that launches with a focus on social networking.

The GW620 is a QWERTY slider with an HVGA 3-inch LCD. Features include a 5-megapixel AF camera and "high-res" video recorder, offering one-touch uploads as well as DivX and Xvid support and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The device offers LG's "SNS Manager", claims to integrate all the user's social networking needs in "one convenient platform" for managing of multiple accounts while receiving real-time updates.

Unique to the LG GW620, there's "Auto Face-Tagging" and "Face To Action" that lets users tag a friend's face in a photo. The phone also has instant messenger, threaded SMS and real-time push email functions.

The LG GW620 is the first of a number of Android devices LG plans to introduce to the public in the coming year, says the company.

The LG GW620 will be available worldwide starting in Europe from now on, apparently - we will keep you posted with more as we hear it.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG Android LG GW620 Social networking

LG reveals a little more about the Android-based GW620 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:25:18 +0000

3 is offering its customers a new messaging handset that it says means they won't have to make the choice between a QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen.

The new HSDPA-enabled LG GW520 ("the perfect phone for messaging addicts") offers a 2.8-inch touchscreen alongside a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
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Complete with the Windows Live messenger and Skype that 3 offers with all its up-to-date phones, the new mobile also boasts push email and comes pre-loaded with a Facebook app.

Offering a 3-megapixel camera, the LG GW520 is available in either blue or silver and is now available in 3 stores, at Three.co.uk priced at ?99.99 on PAYG or free on the ?15 a month Internet Texter tariff.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG 3 Tariffs LG GW520

3 announces availability of LG GW520 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:44:41 +0000

LG announced a new "Chocolate" handset on Thursday on the Verizon network in the US forgetting its stylish heritage for a brief moment.

The rather gaudy looking handset will be offered for $79.99 and slip into the mid-tier range of handsets for those looking for a phone without a $30 data plan.

Tech specs include a touchscreen, random buttons, 1GB of internal memory, microSD card and 3.2-megapixel camera.

While Verizon has moved away from cluttering its handsets with software and applications, the Chocolate Touch doesn't benefit with the operator going for a more "traditional" approach.

That means V Cast Music and the company's navigator software as standard.

Of course, aimed at "the kids" means it's social network savvy with interchangeable backs. Luckily, we've been told, you can switch out that purple backplate.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG Chocolate Touch Verizon

LG Chocolate touch launches, forgets stylish heritage originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:53:13 +0000

LG's newest touchscreen handset, the LG GD510 Pop, announced back in September, is now available at the Carphone Warehouse for ?99.95 on pay as you go basis.

Said to be easy to use, the Pop offers a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen with a thin bezel of brushed aluminium casing.

Described as the smallest full 3-inch touchscreen phone yet, it features a 3-megapixel camera, a web browser and multimedia player. Boasting 8GB of external memory the Pop measures in at 97.8 x 49.5 x 11.2mm.

The LG Pop is also available for free on ?15 per month 24-month contracts, or ?20 per month 18-monthers.

Related links:

• VIDEO - LG GD510 Pop gets promo

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG Pop Carphone Warehouse

LG GD510 Pop gets £99.99 price tag at Carphone Warehouse originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:11:35 +0000

LG is preparing to launch a new range of televisions in the UK under the "Seamless Entertainment" banner.

With the advertising campaign kicking off now, the range will be officially revealed at a launch event on 12 November.

As well as being super slim with a thin bezel and offering LED technology, LG is hoping to capture consumer's credit cards with a new gimmick - Bluetooth connectivity.

Hit play to see the new advert, that appears to suggest society's constraints will melt away with the purchase of a flatscreen telly, and we'll bring you more on the 12th.

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LG Bluetooth Video Advertising

VIDEO: LG to launch Bluetooth-enabled televisions originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:28:37 +0000

LG's accidentally put a website for its forthcoming Android-powered GW620 handset live a little bit early. While we're expecting it to go down imminently, the site is full of latin text but does contain a few videos that demonstrate some of the functionality of the handset.

There's a 5-megapixel camera, full 5-row QWERTY keyboard, 3-inch touchscreen, 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port. On the inside, it comes equipped with Android (though not Android 2.0, it appears) with custom UI, a "social networking service manager", and some intriguing facial recognition software.

Check out the video above, complete with social networking butterfly, creepy stalker-owl and awesome QWERTY-toothed monster thing. There's no sign of any pricing or availability info yet, but it's due before the end of the year. We'll keep you posted.

Read

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG GW620 Android Qwerty Video

VIDEO: LG accidentally unveils GW620 details originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:11:28 +0000

At the Japanese FPD expo in Tokyo, a host of manufacturers have been showing off their latest products. Among them is LG, with its remarkably thin LED backlit display. It's 47 inches across, and has a 5.9mm thick profile.

The company is also showing off a bunch of AMOLED concepts for various functions, including televisions, a rather intriguing transparent display, and a 13.3-inch in-cell projected capacitive multi-touch notebook.

There's no word on when any of them might arrive outside of Japan, but as time marches on, we're sure we'll start seeing them arrive in this part of the world.

Read

Tags: Home Cinema LG Televisions Video

VIDEO: LG shows off 6mm thick television, see thru TV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:16:51 +0000

If you're still enjoying the wonders of a video home system (VHS) or digital versatile disk player (DVD) and are thinking of upgrading at some point, you might be interested to hear that Richer Sounds are selling a Blu-ray player (ehh, BRP?) for under ?100.

Described as the "UK's first top brand Blu-ray player under ?100", the LG BD350 will set you back ?99.95.

There are no bells and whistles with this effort - no BD live or Ethernet connection -? but it does the main job in that it'll enable you to play 1080p HD content. Connections include a HDMI output, Component and both optical and coaxial digital.

The other snag is that it's not available to order online, meaning you'll have to pop into your nearest shop, thankfully Richer Sounds has a store finder which will make the process a little less arduous.

Tags: Home Cinema Blu-ray Blu-ray players LG LG BD350 Richer Sounds Daily Tech Deal

Daily Tech Deal: LG BD350 Blu-ray player under £100 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Vodafone has announced a triple-whammy of new handsets for customers on its network. There's the Windows Mobile LG GM750, the Android-tastic HTC Tattoo and the snap-happy Sony Ericsson Satio.

We'll start at the top. The LG GM750 has a 3-inch display, 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and GPS. It runs Windows Mobile 6.5, so it'll synch with Outlook and other work-related things, as well as offering four home screens and apps for accessing Facebook, Twitter, email and IM. It's free on ?25+ 2-year monthly contracts.

The HTC Tattoo is another entry-level Android handset for the UK market. It has HTC's Sense interface, like the HTC Hero, along with a 3.2-megapixel camera, 2.8-inch QVGA display, GPS, compass, Bluetooth and the same 528MHz Qualcomm processor as in every other Android handset. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD expansion slot too. Again, it's free on ?25/month 2-year contracts.

Lastly, the Sony Ericsson Satio is a renaming of what was originally called the Idou. It combines the company's Walkman and Cybershot brands to deliver a phone that can take 12.1-megapixel photos with a Xenon flash but also comes with media player functionality. It runs Symbian and has a big 3.5-inch screen. This one comes free on ?35/month 2-year contracts.

All three handsets are available now, and come with 300 extra minutes per month when you buy them online.

Related links:

• News - HTC Tattoo "mass market" Android phone announced

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Vodafone HTC HTC Tattoo Android LG LG GM750 Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Satio

Vodafone gets LG GM750, HTC Tattoo and Sony Ericsson Satio originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:15:45 +0100

LG has launched a new Blu-ray home cinema system, the HB954SP, a BD-Live-enabled, Full HD 1080p, 1000 Watt, 5.1 effort.

With five oval satellite Mark-Levinson-tuned speakers, the connected system offers one-click access to YouTube videos, upscaling of standard DVDs, playback from USB and (only) two HDMI inputs.

There's also an iDock for an iPod or iPhone and LG's "Sound Gallery" for easy set-up as well as handy options such as turning off the bass in "night mode".

The system will be available from November 2009, but the really crucial bit for most people - pricing - is yet to be revealed.

LG doesn't offer RRPs, instead suggesting price comparison sites for an idea of cost, not a great strategy for a product that's yet to be released.

Tags: Home Cinema Home Cinema systems Speakers Blu-ray LG iPod speakers

LG HB954SP Blu-ray home cinema system announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:13:38 +0100

With news from Sony Ericsson officially announcing the retail availability of the company's high spec, mulitmedia mobile, autumn double whammy due soon; we thought we'd take a look at the more specialised end of the smartphone market.

While the Aino is all about integration with the PS3, it's the 12-megapixel marriage of the Cyber-Shot and Walkman brands that's got the universal appeal for the cameraphone loving public. However, the SE way of doing things isn't quite everyone's cup of tea, so here are five other great megapixel monsters to look out for that might also tickle your fancy or leave a little more left in your wallet.

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Samsung Pixon12

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Resolution

12 megapixels

Flash

Xenon

Lens

28mm wide-angle

Price

Free from ?35/month

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The Pixon12, or M8910, was the world's first 12-meggy monster and still the equal biggest. It's got a 3.1-inch AMOLED screen with 10,000:1 contrast ratio, a 28mm wide angle lens and can snap a pic every 2 seconds. There's a dedicated "Camera Power Key" for one-touch access to the camera function and a nice Xenon flash too. One of the best features though is the touchscreen controlled auto-focus tracking, where users can select a focus point with the touch of a finger and the AF function will automatically follow the object, while the Smart Auto feature changes the scene and mode based on its object, background and lighting. Other specs for the quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone include HSUPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, an FM radio, 720 x 480 video capture at 30fps and up to 16GB memory via MicroSD for storing all your high res snaps.

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LG Louvre

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Resolution

12 megapixels

Flash

Xenon

Lens

Schneider-Kruznach

Price

unavailable

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LG showed off a concept 12-megapixel camera phone called the GC990 Louvre at the Korea Products Exhibition in Warsaw a few months back and although it's not yet on the scene, it's the only other competitor to the Pixon12 and Satio in pure resolution stakes. It has autofocus and touch-focus, the ability to record 720p HD video at 30fps and an ISO up to 3200. There's also automatic geo-tagging and LG claims there'll be zero shutter lag. POIDH. Away from the camera, there's Wi-Fi, TV-Out, GPS, a 3.2-inch touchscreen 16:9 display, an accelerometer, Bluetooth, and support for DivX and Xvid video formats as seemingly standard for LG these days. Sadly, it's only a concept model and there are no official plans to bring it to market. Perhaps LG has decided that the megapixel race is very 2008.

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Sharp Aquos Shot 933SH

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Resolution

10 megapixels

Flash

Xenon

Lens

28mm wide-angle

Price

Japan only

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The 10-megapixel mark hasn't been hugely popular for mobile manufacturers but a certain phone maker which has been very quiet over here has been busy with this stunner in the East. It has a 3.3-inch WVGA display which has a rotating touchscreen that brings incredibly compact camera-esque control to your mobile device. It's packet with picture taking features and scene modes and, as the name suggests, houses some of the LCD technology found in the Sharp AV units. Very nice for watching TV on the go. Yes, they do that out there.

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Nokia N86 8MP

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Resolution

8 megapixels

Flash

dual LEDs

Lens

28mm wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar

Price

Free from ?20/month

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Going with the headline "Imaging at its very best..." Nokia has designed the N86 to take the big boys as well as other 8-megapixel offerings. It's got wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar optics lens with a mechanical shutter, up to 1/1000 shutter speed and an f-stop range of 2.4-4.8 to suit low light conditions. It also supports geo-tagging capabilities and comes with a 3rd generation dual LED camera flash rather than a Xenon, which Nokia believes to be superior. There's 8GB of internal memory for your snaps for around 4000 images plus A-GPS, a 2.6-inch QVGA 230 x 320 screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. It's also got a scratch-resistant AMOLED display.

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Sony Ericsson W995

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Resolution

8.1 megapixels

Flash

Photo Flash

Lens

standard

Price

Free from ?20/month

?

The other option, of course, is just an older, slightly lower spec Sony Ericsson model - the W995. It features Media Go access for all your gaming an entertainment needs and offers a 2.6-inch screen, a built-in stand, built-in stereo speakers, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headphone jack and all the Walkman features like SensMe and TrackID as well. As for the camera, there's not a lot to get excited about aside AF, face tracking and geo-tagging and the large sensor but then, none of the others on the list come bundled with headphones as well as an 8GB memory stick.

Related links:

• News - Satio, Aino and Yari confirmed

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson W995 Samsung Pixon12 Samsung Nokia Nokia N86 LG LG Louvre Sharp Sharp Aquos Shot 933SH Features

Five mobile phone megapixel monsters originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:19:25 +0100

Microsoft has officially launched Windows 6.5 or Windows Phone to you and me on Tuesday, but what phones can you get with the new operating system and what phone can you upgrade?

If you've already bought a HTC Touch Diamond II, HTC Touch Pro II, HTC Snap S552 or Toshiba TG01 WP, you can upgrade today via the HTC and Toshiba websites bringing you all the new features without having to buy a new handset.

If you want to upgrade your handset, here is the official list from Redmond of what you can get your hands on now and in the near future:

New handsets in the UK

• HTC Touch II from T-Mobile and Carphone Warehouse
• HTC Touch HD II from O2 and Carphone Warehouse
• LG GM750 from Vodafone
• Samsung Omnia II and Samsung Omnia Lite from Carphone Warehouse
• Samsung Omnia Pro - B7730 from Carphone Warehouse on 30 October?
• Sony Ericsson X2 from Vodafone on 30 October?
• Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 from O2 on 30 November

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New handsets in North America

• HTC Pure from AT&T
• HTC Imagio from Verizon Wireless
• Samsung Intrepid from Sprint, available 11 Oct, 2009
• HTC Tilt 2 from AT&T, available in the coming weeks

?

In Europe

• MDA Vario V, MDA Compact V and HTC Touch2 and the Samsung Omnia II from Deutsche Telekom in select European markets
• HTC HD2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France
• HTC Touch2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France, Spain, Switzerland and Romania
• A software update for the HTC Touch Pro2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France, U.K. and Romania
• Samsung Omnia II from Orange, available in the coming weeks in Poland, Switzerland and Slovakia and from early December in France
• Samsung Omnia LITE from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France and Spain
• Samsung Omnia PRO B7320 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France and the U.K.
• Toshiba TG01 W from Orange, available as an update to the TG01 in the coming weeks in France, the U.K., Switzerland and Romania
• LG GM750 and Samsung Omnia II from SFR in France?
• TMN Bluebelt 2 and TMN Silverbelt, made by ZTE Corp., from TMN in Portugal
• Samsung Omnia II and Omnia LITE from TMN in Portugal
• HTC Touch Diamond2 from Vodafone in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and Central Europe
• HTC Touch Pro2 from Vodafone in the U.K. and Switzerland
• LG GM750 from Vodafone in Germany, the U.K., Spain and the Netherlands?

?

In Latin America

• Samsung Omnia available in the coming weeks from TIM Brasil

?

Open market in Europe:

• Samsung Omnia II, Omnia LITE, Omnia PRO B7320, Omnia PRO B7330 and Omnia PRO B7610 available in October

?

In Asia

• ZTE X60 from China Unicom
• HTC Touch Diamond2 from Telstra

?

Open market in Asia

• Acer beTouch E100, beTouch E101, beTouch E200 and Acer neoTouch
• Garmin-ASUS n?vifone M20 ?
• HTC Snap, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch2
• LG GM730 and LG GM550
• Samsung Omnia II and Samsung Omnia PRO B7320, Omnia PRO B7330

?

Handsets that can be upgraded from 6.1 to 6.5

• HTC Touch Diamond II from T-Mobile and Carphone Warehouse?
• HTC Touch Pro II from Vodafone on 14 October
• HTC Snap S552?
• Toshiba TG01 WP from Orange

Related links:

• Link - HTC

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Microsoft Windows Phone Windows Mobile HTC Samsung LG Orange T-Mobile AT and T Sony Ericsson

Microsoft Windows Phones: What phones are available originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:18:39 +0100

Vodafone will be exclusively offering the new LG GM750 Windows Phone until the end of December.

The new Windows Mobile 6.5 handset combines Microsoft's operating system with heavy customisation from LG, as is the trend with the majority of operators launching handsets on the new OS today.

In this case, LG have moved their S-Class operating system onto the handset, providing an alternative to the default Windows Mobile offering.

Featuring a 3-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, and GPS, it offers all the benefits of business support and easy Outlook syncing with the easy-to-use interface from LG. Although pitching towards the consumer end of the market, there is no sign of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The optical trackpad at the bottom is a nice touch, as found on recent BlackBerry models.

We got our hands on the new model and grabbed a few snaps for you to feast your eyes.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG GM750 Windows Phone Windows Mobile Photos

PHOTOS: LG GM750 mobile phone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:01:47 +0100

It may not have been quite the upgrade Microsoft had conceived of with the company's initial route map for 2009 but the launch of Windows Phone/Windows Mobile 6.5 today comes with no less ceremony. Naturally, an operating system is all very well and good so, here are some of the first flush of Windows phones to show it off.

HTC Touch2

Samsung Omnia II (i8000)

LG GM750

Toshiba TG01

HTC HD2

Related links:

• Feature - Quick guide to Windows Mobile 6.5 - Windows Phone
• News - HTC HD2 coming this month with Sense UI

Tags: Phones Windows Mobile Windows Phone Operating Systems Mobile phone apps Mobile phones Windows Marketplace Microsoft HTC Samsung TG01 Omnia II Omnia LITE LG HTC HD2 HTC Touch2 Features

Five Windows Mobile 6.5 phones to watch out for originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0100

LG's just-announced GD510, or the "Pop" as the manufacturer is insisting it will be known, has got its first promo vid. Promoting simplicity as "supreme", the ad asks whether your personal style is "heavy" or "light", "gaudy" or "minimal" with the overall aim appearing to be that you admit that yes, you are simple.

Related links:

• News - Touchscreen LG GD510 launches as the Pop

Tags: Phones LG Mobile phones Advertising Video LG Pop LG GD510

VIDEO: LG GD510 Pop gets promo originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:40:55 +0100

LG has announced the launch of the LG GD510, apparently also known as "Pop", presumably carrying on the junk food theme the similarly low-end, 7-million-selling LG KP500, aka the "Cookie", started.

Introducing the device as a "touchscreen phone that has never been simpler to use", the Pop offers a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen with a thin bezel of brushed aluminum casing.

Details of specs are a little light at the stage, LG says a single button is used on the interface which functions as the menu, end and cancel keys while "a slim strip of light around the button shines either green or red indicating the handset's function".

Features include an media player for music and movie, an "easy-to-use" browser and a 3-megapixel camera for both photos and videos.

The handset will be available in the UK in November at the Carphone Warehouse. Pricing not revealed, but we'd expect it to be at the affordable/PAYG end of the market.

Related links:

• Reviewed - LG KP500 Cookie
• VIDEO - LG GD510 Pop gets promo

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG GD510 LG Pop Carphone Warehouse

Touchscreen LG GD510 launches as the "Pop" originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:49:40 +0100

LG's latest Black Label handset, the widescreen BL40, is now available in the UK and here's the new ad to try and convince you to take the plunge. Hit now to see the Kubrick-themed clip and then follow the link below to our freshly minted review of the new device.

Related links:

• Reviewed - LG BL40 Chocolate

Tags: Phones LG LG BL40 Advertising Video

VIDEO: New LG BL40 Chocolate ad apes 2001 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:54:43 +0100