The HTC Surround is a unique device. It has a sliding mechanism that reveals Dolby-certified stereo speakers, and a kickstand that can prop the device on a table for easy listening. We have to say that we weren’t too excited by the concept of having “better speakers” on a smartphone, having experience our share of tinny sound, but after listening to the device at loud volume, we were impressed. The music had greater mid-range than …
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LG Quantum Hands-On (Video)
If you want a QWERTY keyboard on a Windows Phone 7 device this year, it’s going to have to be with the LG Quantum, which we knew previously as the LG C900. It has a similar feel to the LG Panther development device, but it’s been refined with a rounder design, that we think looks a bit toy-ish and low end. The keyboard has four rows of keys with the numbers embedded within the letters. …
Continue readingSamsung Focus Hands-On (Video)
The Samsung Focus, which previously went under the name Cetus or Omnia 7 (correction: the European Samsung Windows Phone 7 launch device will be called the Omnia 7), has a large 4.0″ WVGA AMOLED display that not only looks fantastic but has a high level of sensitivity (greater than any other Windows Phone 7 device we played with today). It’s also one of the thinnest smartphones in the world, and boy does it feel light …
Continue readingIt’s Called a Windows Phone 7
People have been struggling with Windows Phone 7’s new name ever since it was announced as Windows Phone 7 Series. Luckily Microsoft simplified the name a bit, but still… What are you supposed to call these devices? Is it a Windows Phone 7 phone? A Windows Phone 7 device? If you saw this video, you may have noticed how the narrator refers to a Windows Phone 7 phone. She says, “All you need is a …
Continue readingIntegrated Music Apps for Windows Phone 7
One of the innovative features of the Windows Phone 7 hubs concept is the ability for third party developers to integrate with certain hubs in order to add features in a seamless manner. A number of apps that show up in the Music & Videos hub were shown off at the Billboard Music event last week in San Francisco. Shown above, MusixMatch Lyrics will let you download lyrics for songs, but it also can recognize …
Continue readingNew Windows Phone 7 Speech Video
While you probably already know all about the Windows Phone 7 speech features, Microsoft has posted a new video showing how to use them. Windows Phone 7 will be able to use the following speech commands at launch, “Call”, “Find” and “Open”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’s any “Play” commands for controlling the media player. Hopefully that will come in an update very soon. At least you can make calls using a Bluetooth headset …
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