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The Apple iPhone, which combined regular mobile phone capabilities with Apple’s iPod high quality MP3 player, has created hype in the world of smartphone fanatics with its sophisticated and sleek design. Yes, it looks a bit broad in its candy bar style and QWERTY keyboard layout. And looking bulky at 2.4 in x 4.6 in x 0.7 in and heavy at 4.8 oz. However, it surprisingly fits just perfectly nice in the hand. It is antenna integrated. It boasts of a whopping 3.5-inch glass touchscreen, which has a resolution of 480×320 pixels and 32-bit (128 colors) that gives a stunningly vibrant user interface.

As a full iPod Nano, it contains all the 5G iPod features, such as high-quality videos, iTunes music and podcasts. Moreover, it allows you to browse music from album to album, with cover in pretty artworks as you choose the song you want to listen to. It uses 4gb or 8gb flash memory for bigger audio and video storage capacity.

As a phone, it asserts to have 8hrs talk time and 250 battery hours on standby. It has all the essentials of a mobile phone such as automatic redial, call divert, call hold, call timer, caller ID, call waiting, volume control, ringer control, conference call capability, computer link, call transfer,  speakerphone, polyphonic ringer, voice mail capability, multimedia messaging service (MMS) and short messaging service (SMS). Of course, it also has a digital camera and digital player.

As for connectivity options, iPhone features WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. It also offers full internet browsing and push email options, which include IMAP and POP3 exchange services of Microsoft, and Push-IMAP or Push extensions for Internet Message Access Protocol. It uses GSM (Global System for Mobile communications, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) for cellular enhancement protocol.

iPhone operates on Darwin, a Mac OS X version open source linux computer operating system; and is also quad band calling supported, with GSM) 850, 900, 1800 and 1900, taking you to more places around the world.

On top of all these a new, and rather ingenious feature called accelerometer, would surely impress you with its capability to recognize which way up the phone is, automatically reorienting itself when you flip the unit from portrait to landscape. The same feature, which uses motion/proximity sensor, also switches the screen off during a call to avoid accidentally pressing the buttons on the screen.

The iPhone services are provided by AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless.

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Calling and receiving messages around the world is now possible with Verizon Wireless’ release of the RIM BlackBerry 8830. The bland BlackBerry smartphone is now out with this phone’s integration of EV-DO support and multimedia capabilities but there is still no camera for this unit.

The BlackBerry 8830 has a dimension of 4.9 x 2.6 x 0.55 inches and a weight of 4.73 ounces. Although the unit is slim, it is one of the larger BlackBerry because of its taller and wider body, probably to give room to its spacious QWERTY keyboard and trackball that are reminiscent of the 8800. The 2.5 inch screen features a 65k color display at a 320 x 240 pixel resolution. Texts and pictures are sharp and bright and are still viewable even in darker environments, thanks to the automatic backlighting adjustment of the screen.

The volume controls are located on the right portion of the phone while the 2.5 mm headset jack, mini USB port and a predefined key for launching voice dial on the right side. The power and mute buttons are located on the top of the unit. One disappointment in this phone is the location of the miniSD expansion slot behind the battery cover.

The biggest feature of the BlackBerry 8830 is the dual-mode functionality that automatically switches between CDMA and GSM networks for international roaming, without changing the phone number. This means that users can get voice coverage in 157 countries and e-mail coverage in 2 countries, but these services of course, incur charges. Additional features include speakerphone, smart dialing, speed dialing and conference calling.

Connectivity options with 880 include Bluetooth 2.0 for wireless headsets and hand-free kits. The unit can also be used as a wireless modem for laptops. The unit’s support with EV-DO means that users can experience data speeds of 300Kbps to 600Kbps which makes web browsing seamless. The phone also has not only one, but two available GPS programs for driving directions

8830′s e-mail capabilities fared well with other BlackBerry models, especially with the retaining of the Push technology in sending and receiving e-mails real tim and synching with BlackBerry Enterprise server that support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise. Messaging options include SMS and MMS. Instant messaging is only limited to the BlackBerry Messenger client.

Voice dialing is easy with 8830 and the quality of sound during calls is always excellent. Talk time can reach to five and a half hours. Multimedia features in 8830 include music and video players, although the lack of camera still results to a mixed reaction among corporate users and pure mobile enthusiasts.

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While some have dubbed that the RIM BlackBerry 8703e the best last generation BlackBerry, it’s safer to say that BlackBerry has been very consistent in offering the best set of gadgets that will cater every corporate users’ needs and every new release means that there is something new to offer. Released by Verizon Wireless, 8703e retains BlackBerry’s strong foundation in e-mail support with a number of other offerings.

The design of 8703e is reminiscent to that of the GSM BlackBerry 8700g, with a dimension of 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.8 inches and a weight of 4.7 ounces. 8703e is quite bulky as compared to the Pearl series but it is advantageous in the sense that it features a full QWERTY keypad unlike the SureType which has been source of complaint by many Pearl users. It features a large 2.5-inch diagonal QVGA display, showing 65,536 colors TFT at a 320 x 240 pixels resolution. Texts, images and videos can be viewed at its best in 8703e, as they appear sharp and bright. Automatic backlighting adjustments are also included. Font size and some other options can also be adjusted in the Options menu. Aside from the QWERTY keyboard, the phone also includes a Talk and End Buttons located below the display.

There is also a middle button which can be programmed that will launch other application. On the left side of BlackBerry 8703e is the 2.5mm headset jack, a mini USB port and a customizable soft key. The top portion is where power button and mute key are located, while the back side is where the speakerphone is located. Blackberry 8703e is perfect for everyone’s e-mail needs as it is compatible with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino or Novell GroupWise servers and send and receive e-mail in real time. Setting up an e-mail account is also possible in 8703e by going to the E-mail setting utility on the device and entering the e-mail address and password. The phone also has the capability of opening attachments of any popular file formats like Word, Excel, Power Point, PDF and JPEG. However, it doesn’t have any preloaded instant-messaging clients although it still supports SMS and MMS.

Connectivity features of 8703e includes 3G that enables users to connect and browse the Web at speeds up to 2Mbps. Bluetooth 2.0 is also integrated, but is limited to synching Bluetooth-enabled PCs, headsets and hands-free kits. The unit can also act as a modem for a laptop using a USB cable only if the user is signed up for Verizon Wireless’ BroadBand Access Connect service.
The big drawback with 8703e is that it doesn’t have any multimedia capabilities like audio, camera or video player. The unit does include a single game, Brick Breaker. Nevertheless, these lacks may still not raise a big issue among strict corporate users.

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