Don’t expect this to be a comprehensive review, as 24 hours is not adequate for that. One thing though, if there is anything that you’d like me to try out on the device, or something you’ll like to know about it, fire off your questions in the comments section. Remember: I’ve got this phone only about 24 hours.

The 6760 Slide is a slide-out QWERTY-keyboard smartphone powered by Symbian S60 3rd Edition. It has a 320 x 240 pixels, 2.4 inch display. It is HSDPA enabled and sports a 3.2 mega-pixel camera but without a flash.

Its casing is good quality plastic, and the silver edge gives it a touch of class. The keys on the QWERTY keyboard are large, give a re-assuring click when pushed and are easy to use. The 6760 keyboard is now rated by me next to that on the E90.

Besides the keyboard and navigation keys, there are three dedicated hardware keys for the web browser, menu, and messaging. Neat.

Pre-installed is the standard fare S60 Web browser. Its capabilities are well known, and there are no surprises there.

Also pre-installed is QuickOffice for office documents viewing and editing. However, launching the application and attempting to create a document returns a message that there is no licence for the feature, and a prompt to purchase one. If all you want to do is view/read documents and have no intention of editing documents, don’t bother purchasing a licence: you are good.

I had Dad’s IMAP mail setup in no time and connecting to the server to download mails. I will setup my Gmail account and see how it behaves in the next 24 hours (I have done some archiving to see if that solves the Gmail on S60 issues that I have faced for some time now).

In all, the Nokia 6760 Slide feels good in the hands, looks good too, and seems to do what the manual says it should.

Ask away any questions that you may have!

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I won’t waste your precious time by dancing around issues. Here is how it is currently going for me. My brief:

I need an up-to-date smartphone (preferably released in the last 15 months) with a good hardware QWERTY, a large landscape display, an above-average web browser, has good multi-tasking abilities and that handles Gmail without issues. I do not care what mobile OS platform it runs, and if necesarrilly, I can do with a non-smartphone as long as it meets all the other criteria.

See; my requirements are not high and mighty; are they? You are probably already ticking off a number of phones in your head; aren’t you? I can help you with a quick list too, and in order to make this as short as possible, I’ll add why each of them does not make my list. Here:

Symbian

1. Nokia N97 – Low RAM hampering multi-tasking; using Gmail terribly slows down the messaging app; I’m not a fan of S60 5th Edition
2. Nokia N97 mini – using Gmail terribly slows down the messaging app; not a fan of S60 5th Edition
3. Nokia E75 – I’ve used this one before, and using Gmail terribly slows down the messaging app

Android

1. Motorola Milestone/Droid – Not seen this in the Nigerian market yet; QWERTY not so good but I’d be willing to buy anyway
2. LG GW620 – Not seen this in the Nigerian market yet either

Windows Mobile

1. Sony Ericsson X2 – same 528MHz processor as on the X1 makes this a sluggish device
2. Samsung B7610 – low RAM issues hamper multi-tasking

Maemo

1. Nokia N900 – my preferred candidate actually (the web browser and keyboard rock), but some users also report the same Gmail issues that I have experienced on Symbian devices

There! All my nominees have one issue or the other.

**If the Gmail issue sounds strange to you, here is a link to one of my articles on the subject: Smartphone blues: S60 and Gmail.

And from another source, this time a Nokia N900 Review of Email:

If I login using the Gmail account, the app becomes too slow. I will often get a “not responding” warning and force quit the application. I think it is trying to download all my emails since a couple of years ago, but I could be wrong.

I faced this same issue on the E90 and the E75. I will not risk spending on a device like the N900 only to be bitten again. Symbian/Maemo devices are therefore ruled out for me unless I can find a fix for this. I have read that the issue may be due to the presence of Gmail folders with a huge amount of mail. Perhaps if I do some archiving to split up my mails into more manageable bits…

I’ll try that and see if I can borrow someone’s Symbian or Maemo device for a quick test.

The good news is that I have never faced the Gmail slowdown issue on any WindowsMobile or Android device, so they are my best options for now. I also have an S40-based Nokia 3600 and Gmail works fine on it without issues.

I would love to consider a BlackBerry, but the web browsers are not as capable as I would love to have them, and the screens are not so large. Still, I am toying with the idea.

This is my dilema. Did I miss out any phones that meet my criteria above? Do you have any phones to suggest?

Oh, and please, don’t suggest third party applications to resolve one or more of the above-listed issues. If a manufacturer expects me to pay the kind of money that I am willing to pay for my mobile computer, the least they can do is ensure that basic functionality works out of the box.

Its not like I’m going to die if I don’t buy a Nokia N97, N900 or a Samsung B7610 Comments!

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The account mobilitynigeria.com is running out of disk space.

Please remove some files from this account, or ask the administrator to increase your disk quota.

This account has used 91.25% (1829.62 Megs) of its allocated disk space.

Ideally, one should be alarmed at such news; right? Right. But not this time! It is news that backs up a good trend.

Up till a few months ago, MobilityNigeria was on a 1Gb disk space hosting plan and then we had to upgrade to 2GB. It took less than 6 months for it to use this up. This morning, we have now upgraded again to 5GB. Perhaps it will take about 6 months to exhaust that now?

Statistics from GoingUp

This website is growing at a phenomenal rate, and I must say that it is thanks to our regular readers and members. Most readers never post a comment or mail in (which is a common phenomemon on blogs anywhere), but we are sure that those who visit do find this site useful in some way.

Statistics from GoogleAnalytics

Our daily unique visitors have shot up to an average of 600 from 300 in December/January. This is confirmed by both Google Analytics and GoingUp.

In December/January, we had an average of 560 page views daily. Now, we are already hitting 1,000 daily.

Our Alexa global ranking has also shot up to 41,064. Their statistics show that MobilityNigeria.com is the 65th most visited site by Nigerians and the 16th most visited Nigerian website on the planet.

Android may be the fastest growing mobile OS in the market at the moment, but it sounds to me like MobilityNigeria might be the fastest growing mobile site on the planet. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But at least, in Nigeria. It is the largest, most visited, most referenced, and most respected source of information on mobile technology in Nigeria today.

There, got that off my chest. A little bragging feels good. It really is something to get excited about, whichever way one looks at it, so pardon me. This is my dream child.

Years ago, I ran GoSmartMobile but lost that domain name in unfortunate circumstances. I learnt my lessons and dived in again with MobilityNigeria – and year after year I have watched this site grow. You must understand how I feel.

What’s in it for our readers?

So, beyond how myself and the rest of the team feel, what’s in it for you, our readers?

We are exploring the idea of working out a special deal with a major retailer such that our readers get access to some discount for phone purchased through MobilityNigeria. If we can help it, phones purchased from MobilityNigeria will be the best bargain you can find around. And guess what, we hope to deliver free (within Lagos for starters).

For our readers in other major cities (Abuja and Port Harcourt), we are looking at what deal we can cut with retailers located at your end to extend this to you too.

Wish us luck, and if you know anyone with muscles at a phone retailer and you think they are visionary enough towork with us in this regard, hook us up please.

The Future

We don’t know exactly when, but it is clear that MobilityNigeria.com will eventually run on a dedicated server as it requires more and more resources to keep providing our readers with free and useful information for their mobile needs.

Once again, thanks to you all who read this site every day.

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If you are interested, the price is N43,000 outright purchase or N10,000 monthly x5 months (post-dated cheques required). If you are within Lagos, I’ll also get it delivered to you if you so wish.

Call 08084391076.

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Unfortunately, because US-based blogs are dominant on the web, the untruths go round and after a while, people assume they are true. Here are a few of the iPhone-centric myths that keep making the rounds of US-based blogs.

Myth: the “real internet” started with the iPhone
I read one US-based blogger who submitted that the “real internet” – the capability to access desktop format sites on mobile phones – started with the iPhone and Safari combining the power of a Webkit browser and a mobile phone for the first time, and later adopted by Nokia and Google among others.

Hello! Nokia’s E-series and N-series devices had been combining the power of a webkit browser and a mobile phone for over three years before the iPhone showed up. Check out any Symbian S60 smartphone since Nokia’s E and N series have beeen around. You’ll find one powerful WebKit browser in those phones. It just isn’t true.

To put things right, it started with Nokia and was later adopted by the iPhone, and then Android, and now BlackBerry – all of them years after Nokia had implemented it on a wide range of devices.

Millions of users (myself inclusive) had been accessing the “real internet” – true desktop browsing – on their smartphones for donkey years before the iPhone showed up. The Nokia 9210i, 9500, 9300, E61, E61i, E90, and several models by Sony Ericsson, HTC and others are clear examples of devices that offered true desktop web browsing in the dinosaur era.

I owned and used all the above-named Nokias extensively, and they worked well for full desktop browsing. I didn’t have to tweak or hack them to be able to do this. They just worked out of the box.

Of course, the problem is that America was years behind the rest of the world in the world of mobiles. To the average American, an example of a great phone was the Motorola Razr – a phone that was so limited in just about everything except bling. Now, its those Razr-loving people who want to re-write the history of mobile.

The iPhone made the browsing more pleasant, but sorry – true desktop web browsing has been available on mobile devices since Adam. And when I say “real internet”, I mean really advanced things. Like accessing a VPN, Cpanel, or WebHostManager.

Myth: the iPhone’s Safari browser is the most widely-used mobile browser
That’s another lie sold by the American blogging community. One outstanding US-based blogger who shows a better understanding of the situation than the average is Dennis Bournique who runs WapReview. He addressed this in part in his recent article Why Do Mobile Web Designers Ignore Opera Mini? I highly recommend that article, as it shows the rank ignorance (or sense of self-importance) that pervades the US mobile web landscape.

Opera Mini’s global usage is waaaay bigger than the iPhone’s estimated installed base of about 34 million devices (assuming that all existing iPhones are used regularly by their owners for web browsing, which I doubt). Yet, the US media and blogging machine keeps on about how the iPhone made web browsing on phones popular. Fact: Opera Mini did – with millions of users worldwide who far beyond the number of iPhone users.

We do not need to speak of the mass of millions of Symbian devices (more than the iPhone can hold a candle to) many of which are used to access the internet daily outside of the US. But of course, the American blogging community gets its statistics of mobile web usage from US-centric ad networks. Admob anyone? What do you expect?

Dennis also references another insightful article by Peter-Paul Koch titled The iPhone obsession. While the article contains lots of expletives (reader discretion advised), I recommend it for its pointed exposition of the foolishness that has become the order of the day with Americans and the iPhone.

Be sure of it: the iPhone’s Safari is not the most widely used mobile browser. That honour belongs to Opera Mini.

Myth: the iPhone is a threat to Nokia/Symbian
This one is laughable, really, if not outrightly silly. The iPhone has never been a threat to Nokia/Symbian, and is not about to be.

As at end of 2009, the iPhone had only 2.2% of the global mobile handset market share. Nokia had 38%. Let’s put it in a table for clarity:

Global Top 10 Handset Makers
1 – Nokia . . . . . . . 432 Million 38 %
2 – Samsung . . . . 227 Million 20 %
3 – LG . . . . . . . . . . 117 Million 10 %
4 – SonyEricsson . . . 57 Million 5 %
5 – Motorola . . . . . . 55 Million 5 %
6 – ZTE . . . . . . . . . 50 Million 4.5%
7 – Kyocera . . . . . . 45 Million 4 %
8 – RIM . . . . . . . . . 35 Million 3.5%
9 – Sharp . . . . . . . . 29 Million 2.6 %
10 – Apple . . . . . . .. 25 Million 2.2 %
Others . . . . . . . . . . 56 Million 5%
TOTAL . . . . . . . .. 1,130 Million (1.13 Billion)
Source (really recommended reading)

In perspective, Nokia is as big as the next three biggest handset makers all put together. And the iPhone (Apple) is waaaay down at number ten. Okay, so the iPhone is an immediate threat to Sharp phones (number 9) – but when was the last time you saw one of those? That is how far down the iPhone is.

Samsung is the real threat to Nokia (look at all those amazing phones that Samsung have been putting out). Samsung have been aggressively growing their marketshare year after year, chasing after Nokia. The American community are not talking about that; are they? Why – almost no-one is mentioning it at all!

Apple has got Sharp, RIM, Kyocera, ZTE, Motorola (as bad as they’ve been doing recently), Sony Ericsson, LG, and then Samsung to deal with first – in that order. After catching up with Samsung, Apple will then have to sell three times as much phones as Samsung currently does in order to catch up with what Nokia currently holds. Get the true picture?

In terms of smartphone marketshare, Symbian has 45% and Apple has 15%. Contrary to those who shout the death of Symbian (yes; Symbian has issues and thankfully they are addressing those; but no; symbian ain’t dying), the platform experienced a growth in marketshare in the last quarter of 2009. Growth.

So you get the picture here too, Symbian is as big as the next four smartphone contenders (BlackBerry, iPhone, Windowsphone, and Android) all put together. Ponder on that a bit.

Another often unstated fact: RIM (with 20% of the global smartphone market) is ahead of Apple and has been growing steadily too year after year. RIM understands the game. When they focussed on the small North American market (NAM), they stayed small. A few years ago, they got smart, realising that a love relationship with the NAM is a recipe for staying in the backwaters.

If you really think that America is that vibrant as a mobile market, show me one manufacturer who has largely focused their energy on the North American market and made it big. This is the mistake that Palm made with the older Palm OS. It is the same mistake that they are still making with WebOS. And Apple is walking that same line. But the NAM is the backwaters of the mobile industry. At least for now.

The problem with Americans is that they think that the world revolves around them. In many other different areas; Yes. But in mobile and mobility, an outstanding No. This is one turf they need to wipe the smugness off their faces. It is the same reason why the US blogging community are obsessed with Palm and WebOS, as well as Google and Android. Its an American thing!

Yes; Apple wowed everyone with the iPhone’s user interface. But everyone and their dog now have a fancy user interface – Nokia/Symbian (see a demo of Symbian^3 showing up on phones later this year), LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, et al.

Now, it is the iPhone that is under pressure. The iPhone’s unique selling point is not so unique any longer. Its market appears to have plateaued as well. As things are right now, the iPhone’s marketshare will grow a little more and then stop. This is the time for Apple to change strategies or be content with the small marketshare it currently holds.

But I don’t think that Apple will shift. Its just not their thing. Mac PCs still hold a small PC marketshare till date and are basically US-centric too. That’s Apple. Mostly great products; mostly limited marketshare. That cannot be a company that can actually threaten Nokia’s dominance. Full stop.

Last Line
I am not a Nokia fanboy. As a matter of fact, current Nokia/Symbian devices do not meet my needs. I buy and use devices from any manufacturer and on any platform so long as my current needs are met. Perhaps tomorrow, I may buy a Nokia. Or an iPhone. Who knows?

But truth is sacred. Facts must not be distorted for any reason.

I like the iPhone for what it represents. I am not bashing it. But if we don’t set records straight, we’ll keep living in the Matrix – a world of distorted reality cooked up by Apple and the uninformed American blogging community.

The iPhone is an outstanding device. But basically, it is a device that costs an arm and a leg but with limited functionality and limited availability primarilly in a country that makes up a small percentage of the world’s mobile market, as well as being a country that does not reflect the realities of the rest of the world’s mobile market.

No; the iPhone has never been a threat and is so, so not going to be a threat to Nokia or Symbian. At least, not unless Apple changes its current strategy for something better. Or – God forbid – Nokia decides to abandon the mobile phone business.

The American mainstream media and blogging community – and everyone who is blindly following them – need to pull out their heads out of the sand and face reality. ‘Nuf said.

PS: By the way, I have nothing against the US or Americans. I have American contacts and acquaintances that I deeply treasure, so if you are American, please don’t take this the wrong way.

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brym clearly knows me: I am all QWERTY – for so many years till now, it has been physical QWERTY or bust.

My first ever attempt at using an onscreen QWERTY keyboard failed in approximately fifteen (15) minutes of picking up the device. That was the Samsung i900 Omnia. I also gave the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic a try. While it was a far better experience than the Omnia, it still was not up to scratch.

With a history of smartphones like Nokia 9210, Nokia 9500, Nokia E61, Palm Treo 700P, Nokia E90 and Sony Ericsson X1, among others, what is it that is drawing me out of my comfort zone into the world of a non-smartphone and an onscreen QWERTY keyboard?

The Samsung Jet's onscreen keyboard

The Samsung Jet is the only non-smartphone I have ever used without missing smartphone features, it has one of the most gorgeous, most sensitive displays on mobiles (unless you are told, you won’t know that the display is not capacitive), and is the only touchscreen device with an onscreen QWERTY keyboard that has worked for me till date.

That’s a mouthful, but I’ll break it down as much as possible.

1. The display is gorgeous. At 480×800 pixels, the stunning AMOLED display has the best resolution out there. Just to demonstrate that its not just me, everyone who has taken any amount of time to examine the phone has commented on the display even though they are not aware of its technical specifications.

I haven’t done any comparison with the displays of the iPhone or Nokia N97, but Eldar Mutazin claims that the Samsung Jet’s display “wins head-to-head comparisons with the Nokia N97 and Apple iPhone hands down”.

The Samsung Jet's main menu

3. The onscreen QWERTY keyboard is top-notch. It is the only virtual QWERTY keyboard that I have been able to type on with minimal issues. Inspite of my big fingers, I find that I am able to type fairly long text (emails and blog comments) on the keyboard. The well-implemented haptic-feedback also helps make the typing experience a good one.

Of course, I mis-type a bit every now and then, as I did too on every hardware keyboard I have ever used. But the error margin is so low that I consider the Jet’s virtual keyboard a pleasant surprise.

4. Email. There is a built-in mail client and an Exchange ActiveSync application. Between these two, email management is good and PUSH email (as well as contacts and calendar synchronisation) available

5. Excellent Web Browser. Samsung’s Dolphin web browser is very good – as good as Nokia’s S60 Web browser, and better in some respects. It has the added bonus of not being as sluggish as S60’s Web. There’s full flash and javascript support, multiple pages (up to 5), one-finger zooming, and an ad-blocking feature.

Samsung’s Dolphin browser is better than the built-in Android browser, better than Netfront, and almost as good as Opera Mobile (beats Opera Mobile in flash support) and the iPhone’s Safari.

Dolphin also lets you save images, send current URL as SMS or email, has a built-in RSS reader, supports file uploads, and secure browsing. I can call up a menu to open new windows by simply tapping a button.

6. Muli-tasking. This factor is strong in making this a smartphone replacement for me. Even java applications multi-task. However, Samsung has made it impossible to run both the web browser and camera at the same time. Search me.

7. Comprehensive set of features. The Jet has a very comprehensive set of features (most of which work so well that the need for 3rd party applications is minimised). The feature set on the Jet reminds me of what Ericsson phones used to be like -incredible value for money.

In addition to the extra functionality are little touches here and there that enhance utility and usability (Symbian and company can learn a thing or two from Samsung and Apple about user interface).

Here is a quick rundown of some features that may not have been mentioned in the previous reviews on this site:

The user interface is consistent and has beautiful transition effects (which you can turn off if you wish). All menus are finger-friendly, though you can pretty much use a stylus as well, or anything you wish.

There’s kinetic scrolling in the phonebook, web browser, email, SMS, menus, et al. Volume keys functionality is adapted to whatever menu or application you are in, such that the keys are used to scroll in menus, browser, contacts; and they are also used to adjust sound levels in music player and other menus.

Music player syncs automatically with Windows Media Player once the phone is connected to your PC, and album art and file info are copied accurately as well. Files can be synced to the internal or removable memories.

The Jet has flash drive functionality too – and both the in-built 2GB disk and memory card are recognized by the PC and can be used for file storage. Bluetooth file transfer lets me save incoming files to either the internal or removable memory.

It also sports USB charging, 3.5mm audio jack, TV-out functionality, A2DP Bluetooth, and a built-in call-blocking facility that lets me put numbers on a reject call list.

When the display is locked, using the Gesture Unlock feature I am able to launch applications, as well as call preset numbers from standby mode by scribbling an assigned alphabet on the screen with my finger.

Call quality is good, and the Samsung Jet holds on to weak signals well, especially areas of weak 3G signal. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to worry about battery life either, considering the 800 Mhz processor, the vibrant 3.1-inch display, and always-active 3G connection.

There’s also a fake call function for those times when that pesky neighbour or colleague won’t take a hint and go away. If I want, I can even record your mother’s voice to be played back when the fake call comes in, so my fake conversation sounds more convincing.

The Jet’s speakerphone is automatically turned on when moved away from the head and placed on a flat platform during a call. If a call comes in at a bad moment, I simply turn the phone down on its face to mute the ringer.

The loudspeaker is better than what you find on many media-centric devices, including the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the iPhone 3GS, and as good as what obtains on the Nokia N95.

The menu is customisable: items can be moved around and arranged for the user’s convenience: simply tap the orange icon in top-right corner of the menu and re-arrange, then tap it again and you are done.

Need GPS? The Jet adds A-GPS, which works with the pre-installed Google Maps, though I do consider Google Maps limited here in Nigeria. Garmap and Ovi Maps are more detailed far by. The built-in GPS also works with the pre-installed Route66 navigation application (which is quite useless in the Nigerian environment).

This article isn’t a comprehensive review, so I haven’t detailed every feature available on the phone here, but if the Samsung Jet is any indication of the direction that Samsung’s Bada mobile OS is going, Bada devices are going to be a hit.

Also, note that the Jet has its limitations, as has been detailed in previous reviews by the Alireta team, but the value it delivers so outweighs those negatives for me that there is no struggle here in declaring it an outstanding device.

Simply put, the Jet is feature-packed and a joy to use. At the end of the day, that’s what sealed the deal for me. I am certainly going to keep the Samsung S8003 Jet. Sale’s closed.

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…a free mobile file hosting service with a clean mobile friendly interface, no timers and a minimum of ads. It lets you upload, host and share files (up to 10MB) from your mobile phone. Files can be downloaded by anyone or password protected.

After uploading a file you are given a unique download link and the option to share the link by SMS or Email. Files not downloaded within 30 days will be deleted.

You can upload from any phone whose browser supports the html input tag’s “file” attribue (which enables browse for file functionality). Including the iPhone, Windows Mobile, most Nokias and Opera Mini, Bolt or UCWEB (on phones with JSR 75 support). Surprisingly, browse for file is not supported by any version of the Android browser. A workaround for Android users is to use Opera Mini 4.2 but you would think a modern, open-source, smartphone operating system like Android would support such a basic html function.

Everytime a file is downloaded, its availability is extended by another 30 days. Uploaded files can also be password-protected so that they are not available for download by just anyone.

I was surprised to read that the built-in Android browser does not have browse for file functionality. Since everyone here at the office have been drooling over the Samsung Jet, I loaded QFS.mobi on its Dolphin browser to see its capabilities in this respect.

The Jet’s browser rose up to the task, and I was able to upload a picture taken earlier with the Jet’s 5 megapixel camera.

After uploading, I was presented with options to copy the link, send it as an SMS, or email it. Nice.

Here’s the QFS.mobi download link for the image that I uploaded: http://qfs.mobi/f67. Don’t attempt to download if you are not running a bundle plan. It is over 2mb file large, being a product of a 5 megapixel camera.

Here are a few screenshots showing the process:

Uploading of the file in process after selecting the picture via theJet's built-in file manager

Uploading completed

After uploading, the link URL is displayed and options to Copy, SMS or Email the link also presented

QFS.mobi is certainly a URL to bookmark for those occassions when you are out and about and need to put a special picture or image up for friends and/or business colleagues to download.

Caution: Don’t go uploading large files unless you are on a bundle internet plan.

News Source: WapReview.mobi

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Anyway, in this article, I will list all the smartphones I used in 2009 and do a sort of countdown to my top smartphone for the year just gone by. Here goes!

The contenders, in the order that I came in touch with them:

1. Nokia E90 communicator (October 2008) **
2. T-mobile G1 (May 2009)
3. Nokia E75 (June 2009)
4. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (August 2009)
5. Samsung B7320 (December 2009)

While I got the E90 in 2008, I did use it for several months in 2009, so it qualifies.

Number 5

At number 5 is the Android-powered G1.

I loved the keyboard on this device, being one of the most functional I have used, but the choice of colour of the keyboard area made reading in daylight difficult.

The Android user interface got me hooked too. Download, installing and updating applications from the Android Market was a joy. But while the G1 had USB charging, its battery life was one of the most appalling I had experienced on a smartphone. With the G1, my eye was constantly on the battery indicator. On an average day, I had it plugged to the mains more than not.

Email management was flawless on the G1, and web browsing was good, though the browser wasn’t as capable as Opera Mobile or S60 Web.

Again, the G1 could not be tethered without the use of a 3rd party app (or having to root the phone), had no Bluetooth file transfer, and – the straw that finally broke the camel’s back – no built-in office viewer/editor. The available 3rd party viewers were plainly underwhelming.

I love Android and look forward to its maturing. Then, you can be sure that I am game.

Number 4

At number 4 is the Symbian-powered Nokia E75.

The E75 was a good piece of hardware and felt solid to hold and to look at. The keyboard was good, but in my experience did not match those of the G1 or the E90.

While it had a 3.2 megapixel camera specified same as that on the E90, the camera did not perform as good. Whenever I needed good pictures or video recording, I kept going back to the E90.

Web browsing was standard S60 Web, but for some reason, Nokia had still not sorted out the issues with its messaging/email client. The E75 let me down at critical times in the area of email management. In my line of work, that is unforgivable.

Number 3

The Windowsphone X1 from Sony Ericsson is my Number 3.

The X1 had a good camera. Being Sony Ericsson, I wasn’t expecting less. The keyboard was not as tactile as on the E90, E75 and G1, but it worked.

Email management on the X1 was flawless and I had no issues with web browsing. As a matter of fact, there was little to dislike about the X1. But those few include a not-so-loud loudspeaker and the lack of a built-in task manager,which was annoying.

Being Windows Mobile powered, the X1 allowed for customisation by way of custom ROMs from XDA Developers.

Number 2

By now, many of you are guessing that the number one spot is surely going to the Nokia E90. Unfortunately, if that was your thought, you thought wrong.

At number 2 is the venerable Nokia E90.

Ah! A 3-year old smartphone that still rocks. Excellent 5-row keyboard with several shortcuts, glamorous huge display, very loud speaker, and a really good camera, it is hard not to like the E90.

With a keyboard like that, a huge screen and oodles of RAM, web browsing was a joy on the E90.

Also, the E90 feels as sturdy as a tank. Holding one in a corporate setting is good massage for the ego. It simply feels good in the hand.

Unfortunately, the email client was again plagued with issues. For some reason, setting up Gmail on the E90 simply brought the mail client into a comatose state.

To compensate (and because the E90 was really hard for me to part with), I used Gmail’s mobile app to handle my personal mails and notifications. Of course, having to do that was a kludge. I had to manually check for mails at intervals.

Note that I also tried out Nokia Messaging, and it worked well for a while before the same issues popped up.

I love the E90, but I found a new love.

Number 1

My smartphone of the year 2009 is nothing short of a miracle. It is testimony that good things are not necesarilly big or expensive.

The Samsung B7320 OmniaPro is a Windowsphone. it runs version 6.1 and is upgradeable to 6.5. So far, I have found only two major things to complain about:

1. Older version of pocket internet explorer
2. No flash with the 3.2 mega-pixel camera

Just two, and those two are not quite earth-shattering problems. There are other smaller niggles, of course, but certainly nothing that 3rd party apps didn’t fix. The B7320’s key strengths are:

1. Very good battery life
2. Very good loudspeaker
3. One-handed use and interface
4. Highly functional QWERTY keyboard with preset & customisable shortcuts

Before you go on about Windows Mobile not being user-friendly, note that there are two versions of Windows Mobile – Standard (non-touchscreen devices) and Professional (touchscreen devices). The B7320 runs Windows Mobile Standard and has no touchscreen. I found it surprisingly intuitive to use, different from the Professional edition that.

The screen is large, though much smaller than the E90’s, and the keyboard packs a wallop – very tactile and usable, and with several preset shortcuts. You can also set your own extra shortcuts for your favourite applications.

On the negative side, I am disappointed at Pocket Internet Explorer. No multiple tabs here and rendering is not as good as what obtains on Opera Mobile or S60 web. But it gets the job done for most of what I need to do. Where it is restrictive, I use a 3rd party browser.

Email management is flawless. Both my corporate mail and Gmail work flawlessly, with audio notifications as mails arrive.

The camera is good, but performs badly in low-light situations because of the absence of a flash. Forgivable. The speaker is also quite loud.

Oh, and since there is an ongoing discussion about one other particular manufacturer skimping on RAM, the OmniaPro comes with 256mb RAM in all, and has about 175mb RAM free after booting. I run between 7 and 10 apps on the OmniaPro at a time and still have about 120mb free.

I’ve never gotten one of those out-of-memory messages yet. I’ll try running 30 apps and see

Lastly, and very important, this is one smartphone that I have not had to worry one bit about the battery life. The battery simply goes on for days, even with an always-on 3G connection for email and web browsing. Even the E90’s battery life pales in significance.

The B7320 has 90-95% of the E90’s functionality packed into a small, handy and lightweight device – and at less than half the price. That’s a pretty good deal. Guess who’s happy?

Moving On…

I am looking forward to trying out a couple of new devices this year. Hopefully, Palm will release the GSM versions of their Pre and Pixi this year. I really want to try out the Pixi. Perhaps also the Motorola Milestone. 2010 is promising to be a year of the Droid, so maybe other manufacturers will give us a candybar Android with QWERTY?

I am waiting for Windows Mobile 7 and trying not to fret while at it. The guys at Redmond need to hurry! As for Symbian, perhaps we will see something really good from the old guard too, though I am not so excited at prospects from that direction (for reasons I have already stated on this site). Some announcements have been made at CES 2010 already, and I expect more when Mobile World Congress 2010 holds.

What is your smartphone of the year 2009? And which smartphones do you have your eyes set on this year?

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The i780 is one of the best value for money devices I have ever used (take a look at the review here, and a head-to-head with the legendary Sony Ericsson P1i here).

The i780 cost far less than its fellow WinMo-powered smartphones and packed a wallop. The major compromise on the phone, however, was its camera. Sporting a 2 mega-pixel camera without a flash, the camera was more of a bonus.

That notwithstanding, the i780 is an excellent device. I played with it again today and found that over a year after I sold my unit this device is still very much in the game.

Samsung B7320

1. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
2. Nokia E63
3. Samsung B7320

All the above are smartphones that feature pretty much what most users will need. Of course, the compromises are there, but these phones are almost faultless. Anyone will be hard-pressed to find phones with all their capabilities and at their costs. They are all sub-fifty thousand in cost.

Of course, with a lot of people (myself inclusive) running more and more on a tight budget, such devices are bound to get noticed more than ever. Personally, I am currently eyeing the Samsung B7320. Could it be because of nostalgia for its older brother, the i780, or could it be because I am really not inspired by Symbian at the moment? Who knows? Who cares?

Feel free to make your nominations in the comment box below. If you are planning on changing your smartphone this season, what budget feature-packed smartphone are you ogling?

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