‘Tis still the season to be...
And in these parts, the season of giving, receiving and pining for that must-have gift for self, ends after the first Sunday of January, right?
Well, at least for me it does.
So, I have kept my techie self a little busy this holiday season — not only eating too many sweets — but also getting some neat cellphones to review over the holidays.
Let me tell you that it was loads of fun — and it helped me keep in touch with my always-ready-to-communicate relatives.
Let me share with you four of the new cellphone friends I made over the Christmas season — with the hopes that they will find their way into your lives — and ring in the new year for you, too.
Samsung Wave 723
I continue to be a believer in the achievements of this Korean cellphone manufacturer. Samsung has achieved so much in the cellphone industry over the last five years. It has made a name for itself as the cellphone manufacturer that has a cellphone for every user. And that is just great — for cellphone users.
I got a chance to test the Samsung Wave 723 and let me say that I have nothing but true praises for this gadget. The Wave 723 kept me in touch with my relatives abroad through its seamless social networking sites. I got to tweet the latest in my life and also loved that it was so easy to get the latest on family stuff through Facebook.
The Wave 723 is a great looker, too. It is the first smartphone with Samsung’s proprietary bada mobile OS, and it has a thin aluminum case, the world’s first Super AMOLED screen — which made the photos I took and tweeted so much better to look at.
When it comes to cellphones, at least in my family, everyone likes to see what the latest is — and they all fell in love with the Samsung Wave 723 — just like I did.
But I know that the best way to sell a cellphone is to show just what it can do — and the Samsung Wave 723 was truly a winner in the what-it-can-do department.
Nokia C7
Ah, the Finnish cellphones are still tops in a lot of people’s lists. So, don’t count Nokia out. It is still doing what it does best — manufacturing cellphones that Pinoys love to own.
The Nokia C7 is a stainless steel, sleek cellphone that is equipped with performance improvements on the hardware and a feature rich interface backed by Symbian 3 OS.
I just love it when the cellphone feels sturdy to the touch — and the C7 is one of those cellphones. One that has muscle to it, giving me the reassurance that it is built to last. Yet, it is not bulky. Matter of fact, it is remarkably slim at just over a centimeter thick and that makes it great to handle.
It is no lightweight in the usage department either. The Nokia C7 comes with a 3.5-inch Nokia clear black AMOLED capacitive touch-screen display. I love that the whole front of the C7 is filled with a big screen display. The other elements on the front face are the call end, the call begin buttons and a selection button place right in-between the call control keys.
Yes, Nokia has also loaded the C7 with an eight-megapixel camera, which makes for taking great shots.
Nokia has also made connecting to Twitter and Facebook loads easier than before, so I just loved that I was able to log on and update as soon as the photos were taken — or as soon as I had something important to share.
Of course, as it is with all my Nokia cellphones, it is the personalizing that makes it most special. I am able to change the C7 themes according to what I wanted for the day. Compatible applications can appear on the home screen in the form of widgets, which give instant access to vital information from the application such as alerts, feeds, and messages among other things.
Just great.
Samsung Wave 525
Another wave of the future - the Samsung Wave 525.
Just like the other Samsung Wave cellphones, the Wave 525 is structured around the bada operating system. It has a 3.2-inch touch screen to match the Web experience offered by Wi-Fi connectivity. Pre-installed instant messaging, social networking, games and widget apps plus more downloadable from Samsung Apps Store make staying connected even more fun.
I like the simple yet elegant design of the Wave 525. The front of the cellphone has a grilled speaker and the left side is dedicated to the wristband loop and volume rocker. The right side of the screen has the activation button and the camera button.
And, yes, it is also made not just for being cool to carry around, but for great connecting, too. The Samsung TouchWiz user interface on the 3.0 Wave 525 makes it easy and quick to navigate through the cellphone.
I will add here that I had fun personalizing the cellphone with the cute widgets.
I enjoyed multi-tasking, as I was able to open up to 10 apps at one time.
I loved the fact that texting and calling were just as easy as staying Twitter-connected on the Samsung Wave 525.
I must let you know that I am no big music fan, but I did love the way my fave tunes were playing as I walked the dogs in the village. Funny how music can make walking the dogs seem so much more fun.
Nokia X2
“I just love the way this Nokia X2 sounds,” said my niece C. “It is perfect for me.”
The Nokia X2, I was told, is a cellphone in their music line. It is really cool that the X2 has added dedicated keys to music controls to enjoy music seamlessly.
The X2 features a five-megapixel camera, wireless FM Radio, dual loud speakers, microSD card slot, a 3.5-mm audio port, 2.2-inch display, social networking, Ovi Store and more.
I like the candybar design of the X2, which makes it easy to carry around and fun to have.
The Nokia X2 is stylish, refreshing and youthful. I guess that explains why my niece loves it.
But don’t get me wrong, although the X2 is just perfect for playing music, it is also made to keep one fully connected.
Instant Messaging is just great through Nokia’s Ovi Chat. It also supports e-mail accounts like free Ovi e-mail account on your mobile, Gmail, and Yahoo mail, among others.
And, yes, it kept me well-connected to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Say hello to the New Year. Let it ring loud and clear.