So it’s time for my O2 (NYSE: TEF) Joggler to go back to the mothership, and I have to say I’m sad - because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having it around!

As I mentioned previously, it’s quite ironic that in such an advanced device, the feature I love most is the clock - but that’s just because it’s a joy to look at for it’s clarity. Quite apart from that though, it is extremely competent at handling pics, audio, and video - so there’s nothing stopping you using it as a mini-media-hub of sorts…

I also liked the news feature, where general news, sports news (and also weather actually) all come from Sky - with the quality of coverage you’d expect from them. Other niceties include the super-clear screen, and ease of setup and use. One minor downside is the seeming lack of backup battery, which would of been handy when I was moving it between rooms at one point - instead I had to boot from cold again, which was a mild irritation.

Other than that though, and in summary, a really nice device - now if I can only convince the wonderful guys (James and Sam, you know who you are!) to let me give one away……!

Verdict: very buy-able. you can do that here.

Here at IntoMobile towers, we get through a lot of devices - small to large, powerful  right through to barely a widget - but RIM’s range of Email-aholic BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) devices are very well known amongst them.

I was recently contacted by RIM, on the basis of being able to do some reviews of their devices - however, seeing as Simon and James (our BlackBerry experts) cover virtually BBerry stuff, I thought I’d tackle things from a different perspective - the one of the business user.

I travel quite extensively, and have been running a BBerry Bold for some time now, so it was with great pleasure RIM PR agency (thanks Lisa!) supplied me with an 8900 Curve to try out. I just got it today in fact, and already am impressed.

With my business hat on, I’ve noticed:

- size: much better than the Bold in terms of overall volume - in fact, quite diminutive!

- battery: hoping its going to last a good long while, as it’s only packing 2G (when the Bold runs on 3G, the battery does drain a lot quicker)

- BlackBerry App World: this came pre-installed on my Curve (admittedly via the PR agency), but I’m looking forward to seeing whats on there.

As you may remember, I wasn’t so keen on the Storm, but this little Curve chappy is already getting a great first impression from me - more posts in the upcoming weeks to let you know how I get on!

Nice phone... but how does it respond to being dropped?

In a constant battle against the evil forces of gravity (and paranoia), whenever I am moving about with my ip3g, I am always seeking to avoid a situation where it makes contact with the floor, and inevitably comes off worse. Yep, I’m talking about dropping it.

You see, having dropped a few mobile devices in my time – and these were ones that I really wanted to keep in A1 condition – so I have the feeling that if the ip3g is dropped (say on an outside surface), it’s going to scratch REALLY badly.

My reasons for thinking this are:

• large screen area – screen are notorious for scratching
• large shiny rear surface – that will show up scratches easily
• rounded edges – look particularly bad after damage/scratches occur

So I throwing it out there – has anyone dropped their ip3g and would like to share what happened to it? Interestingly, I’ve seen an ip2g that was dropped, and even with it’s metal back, the impact scratched the case, but more importantly, cracked the glass screen – must have been a decent impact !!

Of course, the logical thing here is to use a case, and I quite agree that would be an option – however, there’s something slightly ironic about covering up the design-centric ip3g with a hulking great case – and at any rate, I’ve yet to see a good one!

[Image via: Apple]

We gonna test you - hard!

For those of you that either (a) gave us some input on ruggedised device tests, or (b) read Will’s story about the new Sonim-Land Rover device coming, you’ll be pleased to know we are still planning to pressure test a bunch of ruggedised devices!

It was a couple of months ago that we procured the contenders - The Sonim XP1, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) 5140, and Samsung Solid - and asked for suggestions as to how to test - and then nothing! The reason(s) behind this have actually been due to quality of video - both recording and playback.

Fortunately in the last few months, a couple of things have happened that have improved the video situation - YouTube has gone HD, supporting 720p video. Also HD camcording came down radically in cost with the availability of devices like the Flip HD and Kodak Zi6 (more on that in another post) - both these devices can also capture in 720p.

So now we are much closer to being able to record the destruction scientific testing of these devices in a quality of video that might actually allow you to see the damage “wear” on them

Just need to get hold of one these camcorders now - any online retailers want to offer one up for test? We’ll be real careful with it, honest (despite what this article says about us testing devices!!)

Oh, and finally - the first two tests of five will be:

#1: dropped from bike-height whilst riding along

#2: the super-high throw

Three more slots on the test list if anyone has any spanking ideas

Ben

The Sonim XP3

We’ve mentioned Sonim and the XP3 before - and this is really just to update our UK readers on where to get it should they want one.

Firstly, you can get it for free on a Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) contract - otherwise, you’ll soon be able to grab one SIM-free for £245 including VAT, direct from Sonim. They currently have a up a registration page, with an email entry form so that you can be informed when that Tough-Tough-phone touches-touches-down!

The XP3 has some mean specs too:
* can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes
* will remain in full working order at temperatures of between -20C to +60C temperatures.
* unconditional three-year warranty
* 330 minutes of talktime / nine days of standby time

You can check out the device, and register for getting one, here.

[Via: Mobile Choice]

OK so the MacBook Pro (MBP) might not strictly be a Mobile Device (to be fair it depends on your definition of ‘Mobile’), but it’s going to get an FMF (five-minute fiddle) anyway!

So Mr. MBP arrived last night, to rapturous applause, looking absolutely stunning – the entire package, even boxed looks great – and inside, the minimalist approach to packaging continues, with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) supplying just the bear essentials to get you going. And here are my initial thoughts:

- Hardware – largely, stunning – from the case to the keypad, the design aesthetic is superb

- Screen – I can’t find the right superlative – you have to see it to believe it, incredibly bright and pin-sharp. Love it.

- Trackpad – hmm, this is the only thing I am unsure of. Much like the BlackBerry Storm mechanism, a touchplate is mounted on a chassis, so it can act like a button too. Combining multiple HID (human interface device) functions on to a single platform makes you feel like you constantly need to be checking how you are touching it (so to speak). I reserve judgement on this one…

- Accessories – minimal, but very well designed. I wonder if the power adaptor is due a re-design, as it’s a little blocky – but functional

- O/S, and Apps – visibly, everything you need to get started

- Network – connected to wireless network within minutes of following the prompts

- Introduction Wizard – great! Easy to follow – software patching occurred soon after startup, but was done in 15 mins and all applied successfully!

- Cost – that’s probably one of the few negatives – you are paying a lot of money for Apple kit generally, but, you are getting quality (from what I believe to be the best consumer electronics company out there)

So overall, I am HAPPY HAPPY – the MBP, even though I have had it for a limited amount of time, gave a GREAT first impression – and that’s what the FMF is all about – does a device make you feel happy within the first few minutes of using it? – if it doesn’t, chances are it is going to really irritate you over time!

Overall rating: Excellent – a touch expensive, but equals incredible quality
Grade: A+ (FAB so far!)

As those of you who read my previous mini-mini-review on the Bold may remember, I was largely positive about the Bold – it is a solid progression onward from previous devices, which include the 8800 (the last BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) I owned).

Well now I am also an owner of a Bold, and am just getting used to the brushed-up UI, which I have to say looks MUCH better! The screen is also a ton brighter than it used to be on other devices, so props to BlackBerry for whoever they have supplying their LCD displays now.

Balancing out the good with the bad however (for the UI), I liken the flashy new graphics on the Bold to those on the HTC Diamond (and derivative) devices, with it’s TouchFLO – that is, the graphics are only skin-deep, and are masking what are essentially the same menus as existed before in the BlackBerry O/S (The HTC uses TouchFLO to mask the WinMo interface). I think BlackBerry have a better natural integration of interfaces than the WinMo classes of device do – nonetheless (to me anyway) it’s disappointing to find the very textual menus under the new flashy icons.

Moving on though, I like the media functions on the device – the UI again has had a thorough brush-up from previous devices. Nice iTunes sync (of non-DRM content) too.

Call quality is also excellent –for some larger devices this has been a problem in the past, due to the (sometimes) premium case materials used – which ironically impinge the radio signal – no such issues here however!

Battery life also seems to be pretty reasonable, at least once the WiFi and Bluetooth radios are turned off! For a 3G device, that is constantly keeping a network data connection (for push purposes), the battery is in fact surprisingly good. I have not used the email in anger yet, so it will be interesting to see how the battery responds then.

Overall, having had five more minutes of playtime with the device, I’m even happier with it – especially given it’s now in my ownership. Nice job BlackBerry – now let’s see if you can sort out the Storm (read my five-minute fiddle of that device here).

I reckon I'm dead good for typing on...

Those of you that have been reading my mini-mini-reviews of devices (the ‘five-minute fiddle’ series), will know that I’ve tried a bunch of devices recently - albeit in some cases for a very limited amount of time - hence the ‘five-minute’ part

So, devices I have checked out are the Nokia N96, Sony Ericsson C905, and BlackBerry Bold. But yesterday I got hold of the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm - for a little while - and here’s what I thought:

• build quality – felt okay in the hand -actually, a bit too light for the size that it is - feels like it should be a bit heavier, like a solid lump of metal, to give that ‘premium device’ aura…
• key layout – there aren’t any (well, many), it’s a touchscreen
• Speed of O/S - Um, a bit laggy if I were honest
• Battery - well the unit I got hold of had low battery popping up. I am going to assume that was because it had been used a lot that day. However…… you never know!
• O/S ease of use - well the UI looks nice at the top level (homescreen), and sub-level one (main menu), but I couldn’t get to grips with moving about in it, which brings me nicely on to….
• touchscreen - er… sucked. Yep, I couldn’t get on with it at all. This whole clickthrough concept, where the screen moves, I found most unsettling. it’s like the whole screen is mounted on springs, and feels like you are typing on a wobble-board! Typing felt strange.
• Email writing - well after some persisting I got the letters I wanted - key spacing good, but that touchscreen unsettled me. Compare with iPhone, which I had the same amount of time to try, and was at one with, within 5 mins. I assume that the push email function works perfectly.
• Auto-screen-rotate - sucked too - very slow and laggy, not animated
• media handling –no time to check

I’m sorry to say, this device didn’t impress at all, and the touch is just nowhere near the iphone. consider that if the screen is a moving part and depresses when you type each letter, how much durability is that going to need to have for a heavy texter/emailer….?

Compare overall with the Bold, and I’m disappointed

Overall rating: Disappointed! 

Grade: C- / D+

Five minutes to assess the Bold: yeah, it can be done!

You may have seen my other posts on my five-minute fiddles with the Nokia N96 and Sony Ericsson C905 - well today, I did really have 5 mins with the Blackberry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold to check it out - headlines below (read the other posts here and here)….

By the way, just to recap on the point of the five-minute fiddle - I’d estimate this the average time that someone who is browsing/buying a phone in a shop might have to evaluate a phone before they make a decision on it. It cold of course equal be that a friend lends them their phone to try out - but overall, limited time to form an impression on whether it be gooood, or it be baaaaaad. That’s baaaaaaaad, just in case you were wondering on the spelling

So for the Bold:

• build quality – felt VERY good in the hand - solid, yet light, nice tactile keys
• key layout – come on, it’s a BlackBerry - excellent, naturally
• O/S ease of use - top-level menus good, but spotted the bad old list menus have barely changed. Disappointed. RIM, you have work to do here….
• option-finding complexity – high – due to those list menus!
  Email handling - well, the person I borrowed the phone off said they had had NO email delivered all morning - most unlike a BBerry to have push email issues, and I REALLY hope that isn’t a sign…
• media handling –no time to check
• progression of BBerry series with this device: I’d say between good to excellent!

So in summary, I walked away impressed with the Bold - I’m sure the push email delivery problem was a config issue, and the Bold is at least competent in each area - and now it’s a little more consumer-friendly. Roll on the Storm for me to have a five-minute fiddle with please!

Overall rating: Good – I’d seriously consider one

Grade: A (solid performance)

I also had my hands on a C905 the other day for five minutes, and below you can also find out what I thought of it. The point of these comments are to give you a flavour of what might enamour or disappoint you if were to have same time to play with the device – and thus get a view on whether it’s buy-worthy!

build quality – superb – I am impressed. Only reservation is on the slide mechanism for the camera, as these have a history of opening in peoples pockets, and draining the battery!

key layout – very good indeed – good response too

slide mechanism – clunky, in a very good way

User interface – not really changed at all from K800i – nice, but you could argue needs an update

Camera – simply stunning!

option-finding complexity – very high – lots of layers of menus again

Speed – quick to use, nice

media handling – this is an odd one – images are excellent, videos are really not good at all!!

So in summary, would I buy one? The major problem I have with this device is that the UI really isn’t evolved much, if any, from the three year old K800i. Come on SE, you have to keep wowing us, sitting on laurels does not make me buy a phone! But but but, the camera is back to being a revelation. I suspect a proper 8MP camera would take better pics, but the pics on here are still VERY good!

Overall rating: positive – I like!
Grade: A- (a few tweaks and it would be an A or A+!)