Watch TV with the Nokia N77 and the Nokia N92 with SMART

Finally. Mobile TV is a reality here in the Philippines. The DVB-H capable phones, NOKIA N92 and the new N77 has finally arrived in the Philippines. Legally.

Before you rush out, I heard that these phones are all locked. You can only use SMART SIM cards. It's really no big deal, though, since smart is the only carrier with DVB-H. You can obtain the phones at smart centers, either bundled with a postpaid subscription, or as a standalone phone. The price of the Mobile TV service is 400++ php per month. It isn't bad, same price as paying for your cable subscription at home.

The only downside to this is the scarcity of channels. There are few channels and the price cannot justify it, yet. If I were you, I'd wait for the channels to "multiply" so the price would be more more justifiable.

Sony Ericsson P1i

The latest reincarnation of the exclusive P series of Sony Ericsson features a new design, far from the familiar flip keypad of its older brothers. It's design follows the M600i closely, with the same OS (with a few differences, though), same rocker style QWERTY keyboard and a large touchscreen. I think its 2.6 inches, correct me if I'm wrong.

The P1i is on top of its class boasting almost complete connectivity options, it does away with wifi g. It has a camera, a 3.2 megapixel at the back and another one at the front for video calling. Unlike Nokia, you cannot use the front camera for camwhoring. I know, I tried to, but it just won't work. It is very slim compared to its older brother, the P990i. I got to use the phone for about two months, and I am satisfied with it. The wifi was quick to scan and connect and it is very efficient in multi tasking. It never hanged up on me. The web browser was superb. I don't have to manually enter settings if I'm using wifi or gprs, it automatically figures it out. I also love the big screen. My pictures looked clear. The camera, though, was a bit dissapointing. It may not be from the cybershot line of camera phones, but the pictures I took with it came out grainy. I don't know if it was just because I was using the smallest picture size, which is VGA resolution, but when I use VGA on my other phones, they come out good and crisp. The touchscreen was sensitive enough, but it was a fingerprint magnet. I had to wipe it frequently. The battery was typical sony, Even if I had been playing music for hours, it would still have juice for the rest of the day. The keypad needs some getting used to, and if you have large fingers, you are going to have a hard time texting. Luckily, the handwriting recognition software was good. The casing is made of plastic, metal with the back having a rubber surface. It's not easy to scratch, but the silver paint on the camera shutter button chips off easily.

It comes with a 1gb memory stick micro for all your files. Another plus point for the P1i was the QUICKOFFICE application. Not only did it let you open word, excel and powerpoint documents, it lets you edit them, applicable only for word and excel documents though.
The current price of the P1i (last time I checked) was 21,000++ php. Greenhills price. Overall, the phone is great. If you don't care about the camera, this is a smartphone you won't be dissapointed in.

New Version

A new version of the N95. It has an 8gb hard drive, same 5 megapixel camera, same OS, new color scheme and a larger screen. Can't wait.

N95 versus the iPhone

These two phones are at the pinnacle of the mobile phone world. Questions regarding which one to get is very common today.

Nokia N95: 27,500 php

Apple iPhone: 29,000 php

The prices stated above are Greenhills Price. I used the greenhills price because I buy my phones there, having a friend that I can trust with all my purchases, so all those problems plaguing those who buy at Greenhills are virtually non existent for me.

The N95 is the best phone Nokia has released so far, with features that can make a technophobe run for his life. The iPhone has an innovative design, a glorious touchscreen and a sexy shell. I have to admit, I noticed it at once on a shelf with a dozen more phones, and I knew it was the iPhone. It grabs your attention just like a hot girl walking down the street. The N95 may impress those who know its looks, but for the ignorant hermits out there, it's not that much of a sight. Beauty is only skin deep, however.

The N95 has a five megapixel camera under its skirt. That's a far cry from the two megapixel snapper on the iPhone. And I heard that the iPhone can't shoot video. Read that from T3 magazine. The iPhone may be able to play music stored on its 8gb hard drive, but who cares? The N95 can do that too, albeit on the removable 2gb micro sd card. Now, you might think that 2gb is way below 8gb, but, for me, It's always better to have a removable storage, technically, you can have more than 8gb, providing you have a lot of micro sd cards. That sounds expensive! Not really, a 1gb card now costs about 650 php on CD-R king, and the 2gb costs about 1,180 php. Sounds good now, doesn't it?

On to the screen. The iPhone shines on this one, having an innovative touchscreen. It was a joy to behold, but that's it. Using it is another story, needing two hands and you might have a hard time texting, since it only has a virtual keypad, not giving you tactile feedback.

The only problem I have with the N95 is that its a slider, making its durablity an issue. But, taking good care of the phone and it won't break on you. I have the N95 now, and I am satisfied, except for the battery, It cannot even last one day if you use a lot of its functions.

It depends on what you want, anyway.

You want drooling friends and jealous onlookers, get the iPhone.

You want function and a good value for money, get the N95.

Welcome!

Hi!

This is a blog about mobile phones. All about mobile phones. From personal reviews to raves and rants about a phone, you can find it here. I will also include reviews from reputable sources, such as T3 magazine, which I am a fan of ( I own all of their issues, from issue 1 to present) and a preview of upcoming models from the leading manufacturers.