Motorola KRZR K1

Strengths:
1. Network: GSM 850, 900, 1800 & 1900; Size: 103 x 42 x 16 mm; Weight: 102 g.
2. Connectivity: EDGE, USB, Bluetooth.
3. 2 Megapixel Camera, 8 x Digital Zoom, Photo Effects, Video Record, Video Player, MPEG4 Video.
4. Screen: Internal TFT 256k Colour Screen (176 x 220 Pixels); External: CSTN 256k Colour Screen (96 x 80 Pixels)
5. Organiser, Phonebook, Calendar, Contacts, Currency Converter, Date, Clock, Alarm, Flight Mode
6. SMS, MMS, EMS, Instant Messaging, Email
7. GPRS, WAP; 6 Hours Talk Time, 300 Hours Standby

Weaknesses:
1. No Flash.
2. Screen and front of the phone catches smudges easily.
3. Only one mini-USB port. No other ports.

The Bottomline:
The Motorola KRZR K1 is one of the most stylish phone I have reviewed, for the simple reason that most people who saw it are amazed with the design. Sleek and stylish clamshell design. All designed to give you an elite, unparalleled wireless experience.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Samsung U700

Strengths:
1. Dimensions : 102.5 x 50 x 12.1 mm; Weight : 86g.
2. Talk time: Up to 3.5 hours; Standby time: Up to 250 hours.
3. Display: 2.2” 240×320 262K Color TFT display; 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus, video.
4. 3.2 mega-pixel camera with auto Focus, Digital Zoom, Flash.
5. 40 MB of built-in memory, expandable via a microSD card.
6. Document Viewer – MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, TXT, PDF and JPEG files.
7. Connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP , 3G and USB.
8. Network: HSDPA / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900. Virtual Glass mirror.
9. Alarm clock plain and daily recurrent, reminder; Timer, stopwatch, calculator.

Weaknesses:
1. No radio.
2. No call filtering.

The Bottomline:
The Samsung U700 slider phone not only looks thin, but also feels very thin. One of the few phones where style and functionality comes together. It offers intuitive control and brilliant functions, a high-quality camera, a reasonable music player, instant data transfers via HSDPA, and synchronization. One of the thinnest 3G slider phones in the market.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Nokia N93i

Strengths:
1. Network: UMTS / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900; TFT, 16M colors; 240 x 320 pixels.
2. Dimension: 108 x 58 x 25 mm, 115 cc; Weight: 163 g; XHTML Browser.
3. FM radio, Realplayer, streaming video, music player, Photo/video editor
4. Email, MMS, Picture Messaging, Video Calling, Push to Talk
5. WLAN, USB 2.0 with TV out support. Bluetooth, IR; 3G, WLAN, GSM and EDGE.
6. Organizer, calendar, todo list, notes, calculator and converter; voice recorder.
7. MP3 ringing tones, true tones, polyphonic tones.
8. 3.2 megapixel camera; 3 x optical zoom, 20 x digital zoom.

Weaknesses:
1. Built-in Flash has a limited effective range – less than two to three meters only.
2. Low battery life.
3. User interface and navigation not so friendly.

The Bottomline:
The Nokia N93i was designed to be a phone and a camcorder in one. The twisting, turning design feels a little over complicated thus making the mirror finish prone to picking up fingerprints, scratches and other marks. The size of the phone is an issue for me. It might not be handy to take along.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

SE K800i Cybershot

Strengths:
1. Network: UMTS / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900; Dimension: 105 x 47 x 22 mm.
2. 256K colors; 240 x 320 pixels; Memory Stick Micro (M2); Weight: 115 g.
3. 3.2-megapixel digital camera, 16x digital zoom, Picture blogging / Editor.
4. Radio, Video Streaming / Viewing, 3D Games, Java.
5. Bluetooth, IR port, Modem, USB support; Speakerphone.
6. Alarm clock, calculator, calendar, contacts, notes, phonebook, stopwatch, tasks, timer
7. SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging; MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player.

Weaknesses:
1. The keypad’s plastic cover peeled off.
2. It takes awhile for the phone to load a 5min and up video file.
3. Volume a bit low.

The Bottomline:
The SonyEricsson K800i Cybershot phone live up to its name as a cool camera phone. The photo printouts taken using this phone is superb.  The best camera phone so far.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Lenovo 3000 V100

Strengths:
1. Measuring 9.5 x 12 x 1.3 inches and 4.4lbs in weight with battery; 12.1 in TFT active matrix display.
2. Dual-layer DVD-RW and 1.3 megapixel web camera; full-size keyboard; instant-on button.
3. 3 USB 2.0 ports, IEEE 1394 (4 pin), VGA out, 5 in 1 Multicard Reader, Express Card 54, headphone jack, mic-in jack, power adapter jack.
4. On-off switch for Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth; built-in speakers;
5. Built-in fingerprint reader for security.

Weaknesses:
1. Screen brightness a bit low.
2. Not as thin and light compared to other notebook computers in its class.

The BottomLine
The Lenovo 3000 V100 notebook is simple but offers good performance and has attractive features. It will fit well for a small business buyer or as a second home computer that can be easily carried on vacation or other trips.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Nokia 5500 Sport

Strengths:
1. Symbian smartphone; Dimensions: 107 x 45 x 18 mm. Weight: 103 grams.
2. Water resistant, dust resistant, shock resistant; flashlight.
3. High-quality stereo sound; FM stereo radio with visual radio support; Stereo music player (MP3, AMP, AAC, eAAC+, and WMA formats).
4. Tri band EGSM (900) / GSM (1800/1900) phone.
5. 2-megapixel camera lens – LCD display size 208 x 208 pixel.
6. GPRS and EDGE support; infrared and Bluetooth; document reader: PDF format
7. Three separate modes: phone, music, or sports
8. Calculator, phonebook, calendar, notepad, world clock, currency converter, and file manager.

Weaknesses:
1. Text to Voice function can’t be understood. Slurred read-out. ELLEN software should be improved.
2. The 3D sensor that allows the user to tap the screen function to stop music player and other is a hit-and-miss thing. It worked after several taps.
3. The sport feature particularly the Cooper Test runs by just shaking the phone.
4. Services like navigator, landmarks, position and push to talk are included in the menu but don’t work.
5. The keys are not user-friendly and positioned too closely to each other. More often than not, you push a certain key to activate a function but another function will be activated.

The Bottomline:
I find the P 15,500 price tag of the Nokia 5500 phone a bit high for a phone with unique functions that needs a lot of improvement. It looks sporty and rugged but I can get a phone that looks the same at a lower price.

Rating: 6 out of 10.